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LIBRARY 

UNIVERSITY  OP 
CALIFORNIA 


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THE   BOY   APPRENTICED 
TO  AN  ENCHANTER 


THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY 

NEW  YORK   •    BOSTON    ■    CHICAGO  -    DALLAS 
ATLANTA   •    SAN    FRANCISCO 

MACMILLAN  &  CO.,  Limited 

LONDON  •    BOMBAY   •    CALCUTTA 
MELBOURNE 

THE  MACMILLAN  CO.  OF  CANADA,  Ltd. 

TORONTO 


THE  BOY 
APPRENTICED 

TO  AN 
ENCHANTER 

BY 

PADRAIC   COLUM 


Illustrated  by 
DUGALD  STUART  WALKER 


KeiD  Yorft 

THE   MACMILLAN   COMPANY 
1920 

All  rights  reserved 


COPTBIOHT,   1920, 

Bt  the  macmillan  company. 


Set  up  and  electrotyped.    Published  November,  igso. 

LOAN  STACK 


NortoooH  9k0S 

J.  S.  Gushing  Co.  —  Berwick  4  Smith  Co. 

Norwood,  Mass.,  U.S.A. 


ELLA  YOUNG 

IN  MEMORY   OF   THE   MANY  STORIES 
SHE  HAS  TOLD  ME 


134 


TABLE   OF  CONTENTS 


PROLOGUE 

FAOB 

The  Horses  of  King  Manus 11 


PART  ONE 
The  Story  of  Eean  the  Fisherman's  Son     .        .       19 

PART  TWO 

The  Story  of  Bird-of-Gold  Who  Was  the  Bram- 
ble Gatherer's  Daughter         ....      71 

PART  THREE 
The  Two  Enchanters 131 


PROLOGUE 

THE  HORSES  OF  KING  MANUS 

As  for  the  youth  who  had  tried  to  steal  the  white 
horse  that  the  King  owned,  he  was  bound  hand 
and  foot  and  taken  into  the  castle  of  the  King. 
There  he  was  thrown  down  beside  the  trestles  of 
the  great  table,  and  the  hot  wax  from  the  candles 
that  lighted  the  supper  board  dripped  down  upon 
him.  And  it  was  told  to  him  that  at  the  morrow's 
sunrise  he  would  be  slain  with  the  sword. 

Then  the  King  called  upon  one  to  finish  the 
story  that  was  being  told  when  the  neigh  of 
the  white  horse  was  heard  in  the  stable.  The 
story  could  not  be  finished  for  him,  however, 
because  the  one  who  had  been  telling  it  was  now 
outside,  guarding  the  iron  door  of  the  stable  with 
a  sword  in  his  hand.  And  King  Manus,  sitting 
at  the  supper  board,  could  not  eat  nor  refresh 
himself  because  there  was  no  one  at  hand  to  finish 
the  story  for  him. 

11 


THE  BOY  APPRENTICED  TO  AN  ENCHANTER 

And  that  is  the  way  that  the  story  of  The  Boy 
Apprenticed  to  an  Enchanter  used  to  begin. 

But  first  I  shall  have  to  tell  you  about  King 
Manus  and  his  three  horses. 

King  Manus  ruled  over  the  Western  Island,  and 
he  had  a  castle  that  was  neither  higher  nor  wider 
than  any  other  King's  castle.  But  he  had  a  stable 
that  was  more  strongly  built  than  any  other  King's 
stable.  It  had  double  walls  of  stone ;  it  had  oak 
beams ;  it  had  an  iron  door  with  four  locks  to  it. 
And  before  this  door  two  soldiers  with  drawn 
swords  in  their  hands  stayed  night  and  day. 

In  those  days,  if  one  went  before  a  King  and 
asked  him  for  a  gift  the  King  might  not  refuse  to 
give  what  was  asked  of  him.  But  King  Manus 
was  hard  to  come  to  by  those  with  requests.  For 
before  the  chamber  where  he  sat  or  slept  there 
stood  a  servant  to  take  the  request,  and  if  it  were 
one  that  might  not  be  brought  to  him,  to  make  an 
excuse  for  the  King. 

It  was  all  because  of  the  King's  three  horses  — 
a  white  horse,  a  red  horse,  and  a  black  horse. 
The  white  horse  was  as  swift  as  the  plunging  wave 

12 


THE  HORSES  OF  KING  MANUS 

of  the  sea,  the  red  horse  was  as  swift  as  fire  in  the 
heather,  and  the  speed  of  the  black  horse  was 
such  that  he  could  overtake  the  wind  of  March 
that  was  before  him,  and  the  wind  of  March  that 
was  behind  could  not  overtake  him. 

Many  had  tried  to  get  one  of  the  King's  horses 
by  request  or  by  robbery.  But  those  who  would 
ask  for  a  gift  were  kept  away  from  the  King, 
while  the  stone  walls,  double  thick,  with  the  door 
of  iron  with  four  locks  to  it,  kept  robbers  outside. 
Besides  there  were  the  two  soldiers  with  drawn 
swords  in  their  hands  to  prevent  the  horses  being 
taken  out  of  the  stable  by  any  one  except  their  own 
grooms.  And  so  it  was  thought  very  certain  that 
King  Manus  would  never -lose  his  famous  horses. 

But  this  very  night,  when  the  King  and  his 
lords  were  at  supper,  the  neigh  of  a  horse  in  the 
stable  was  heard.  Then  it  was  that  the  story- 
teller stopped  in  his  story.  The  trampling  of  a 
horse  was  heard.  Straight  out  King  Manus  ran, 
and  his  harper  and  his  story-teller  and  his  lords 
ran  with  him.  TVTien  they  came  to  the  stable  they 
saw  that  the  two  soldiers  were  sitting  before  the 

13 


THE  BOY  APPRENTICED  TO  AN  ENCHANTER 

iron  door  fast  asleep,  with  the  swords  on  the  ground 
before  them.  And  the  locks  were  oflf  the  door  of 
iron. 

Just  as  they  came  there  the  iron  door  of  the 
stable  opened  and  the  King's  white  horse  was  led 
out.  He  who  had  the  rein  was  a  strange  youth 
dressed  in  a  foreign  dress.  The  youth  was  about 
to  spring  on  the  horse's  back  when  those  who  were 
with  the  King  sprang  upon  him  and  held  him  and 
held  the  bridle  of  the  horse. 

And  having  secured  the  youth  they  went  into 
the  stable,  and  they  found  the  red  horse  and  the 
black  horse  eating  at  their  mangers.  They  led 
the  white  horse  back  and  put  him  in  his  own  stall. 
The  watchers  who  had  been  before  the  stable 
door  could  not  be  wakened,  so  those  who  were 
with  the  King  carried  them  to  another  place, 
and  left  two  others,  the  harper  and  the  story-teller, 
to  keep  watch,  with  the  soldiers'  swords  in  their 
hands.  As  for  the  youth  who  had  tried  to  steal 
the  white  horse,  he  was  placed  as  has  been  told 
you,  and  every  one  there  knew  what  doom  would 
befall  him. 

14 


THE  HORSES  OF  KING  MANUS 

It  was  then  that  the  King  called  upon  one  to 
finish  the  story  that  was  being  told  him  when  the 
white  horse  neighed.  It  was  then  that  he  sat 
at  the  supper  board,  not  able  to  take  rest  nor 
refreshment  on  account  of  his  not  having  heard  the 
story  to  its  end.  And  it  was  then  that  one  of  the 
lords  said  to  the  King,  "Let  the  youth  who  is  lying 
bound  beside  the  trestles  of  the  table  tell  us  what 
it  was  that  made  him  go  into  such  danger  to  steal 
one  of  the  horses  of  King  Manus." 

The  King  liked  that  saying,  and  he  said,  "Since 
my  story-teller  abides  outside  guarding  the  door 
of  the  stable,  I  will  have  this  youth  tell  us  the  story 
of  why  he  entered  into  such  danger  to  steal  one  of 
my  horses.  And  more  than  that.  I  declare  that 
if  he  shows  us  that  he  was  ever  in  greater  danger 
than  he  is  in  this  night  I  shall  give  him  his  life. 
But  if  it  is  not  so  shown  the  story  he  tells  will 
avail  him  nothing,  and  he  shall  perish  by  the  sword 
at  the  morrow's  sunrise." 

Then  the  youth  was  taken  from  where  he  lay 
by  the  trestles  of  the  table,  and  the  cords  that 
bound  him  were  loosened.     He  was  put  in  the 

15 


THE  BOY  APPRENTICED  TO  AN  ENCHANTER 

story-teller's  place  and  fresh  candles  were  lighted 
and  set  upon  the  table. 

"Your  danger  is  great,"  said  the  King,  "and  it 
will  be  hard  for  you  to  show  us  that  you  were 
ever  in  such  danger  before.  Begin  your  story. 
And  if  it  is  not  a  story  of  a  narrow  and  a  close 
escape  there  will  be  little  time  left  for  you  to  pre- 
pare for  your  death  by  the  sword." 

Thereupon  the  youth  in  the  foreign  dress  looked 
long  into  the  wine  cup  that  was  handed  him,  and 
he  drank  a  draught  of  the  wine,  and  he  saluted 
the  King  and  the  lords  who  sat  by  the  King,  and 
he  said : 

"Once  I  was  in  greater  danger,  for  its  mouth 
was  close  to  me,  and  no  hope  whatever  was  given 
me  of  my  saving  my  life.  I  will  tell  the  story, 
and  you  shall  judge  whether  my  danger  then  was 
greater  than  is  my  danger  now." 

And  thereupon  the  youth  in  the  foreign  dress, 
who  had  tried  to  steal  the  white  horse  that  King 
Manus  owned,  began  the  story  which  is  set  down 
here  in  the  very  words  in  which  he  told  it. 


16 


THE  STORY  OF  EEAN  THE 
FISHERMAN'S  SON 


PART  I 

THE  STORY  OF  EEAN  THE  FISHERMAN'S 

SON 

I.   The  Coming  of  the  Enchanter 

My  father  (said  the  youth)  was  a  fisherman,  and 
he  hved  on  this  Western  Island.  It  may  be  that 
he  is  still  living  here.  His  name  was  Anluan, 
and  he  was  very  poor.  My  own  name  is  Eean, 
and  the  event  that  begins  my  story  took  place 
when  I  was  twice  seven  years  of  age. 

My  father  and  I  had  gone  down  to  the  shore  of 
the  Western  Ocean.  He  was  fishing  in  the  pools 
of  the  sea,  and  I  was  putting  willow  rods  into  the 
mouths  of  the  fish  caught  so  that  I  might  carry 
them  in  my  hands  to  the  market  that  very  day 
and  sell  them  there.  I  looked  out  and  saw  a  speck 
upon  the  water,  a  speck  that  came  nearer.  I  kept 
watching  it  while  my  father  dragged  the  pool  with 
his  net.     The  speck  became  a  boat,  and  the  boat 

19 


THE  BOY  APPRENTICED  TO  AN  ENCHANTER 

came  on  without  sails  or  oars.  It  was  a  shining 
boat,  a  boat  of  brass.  I  called  to  my  father  and 
my  father  straightened  himself  up  and  watched  it. 
In  the  boat  that  came  toward  us  of  its  own  accord 
there  was  k  man  standing. 

The  boat  came  into  the  full  water  between  the 
rocks,  and  then  it  sank  down,  this  boat  of  brass,  un- 
til its  rim  touched  the  water.  It  remained  still  as 
if  anchored.  The  man  who  was  in  the  prow  of  the 
boat  stepped  out  on  the  sand  between  my  father 
and  me. 

He  looked  a  man  of  high  degree  —  like  a  prince 
or  a  potentate.  He  had  a  dark  face  and  a  dark, 
curly  beard,  and  he  had  eyes  that  were  like  hawks' 
eyes.  He  had  on  a  straight  coat  of  a  blue 
material  covered  all  over  with  curious  figures, 
and  in  his  hand  he  held  a  long  polished  staff 
that  had  the  shape  of  two  serpents  twisting  to- 
gether. He  looked  at  me  and  I  was  frightened  of 
him,  and  I  turned  to  my  father.  But  my  father 
was  standing  there,  holding  the  fishing  pole  in 
his  hands,  his  mouth  open,  gasping  like  one  of  the 
fishes  upon  the  rocks. 

20 


THE  STORY  OF  EEAN  THE  FISHERMAN'S  SON 

The  stranger  looked  me  over  again  —  looked  me 
over  from  my  feet  to  my  head,  and  then  he  said 
to  my  father,  "There  is  no  need  that  he  should 
do  aught  about  these  fishes.  I  have  need  of  an 
apprentice,  and  it  would  be  well  for  you  both  if 
he  should  come  with  me." 

My  father  then  found  his  voice,  and  he  said, 
"  If  my  son  does  not  sell  these  fishes  in  the  market 
to-day  he  cannot  bring  back  the  bag  of  meal  for 
our  household." 

Said  the  man  from  the  strange  boat,  "Bring  me 
to  your  house  and  I  shall  put  down  gold  for  every 
copper  that  your  son  would  get  in  the  market." 

My  father  made  a  sign  to  me  to  throw  the  fishes 
back  into  the  water.  This  I  did,  but  I  did  it 
fearfully.  And  then  my  father  stepped  out  of  the 
pool  of  the  sea  and  he  made  a  sign  to  the  stranger 
to  follow  us.  We  walked  from  the  seashore  and 
up  the  path  of  the  cliffs,  and  we  went  through  the 
heather  of  the  headlands,  following  the  goat 
tracks  till  we  came  to  the  wattled  house  where  we 
lived.  The  man  from  the  strange  boat  followed 
my  father,  and  I  came  last   of   all.      And  when 

21 


THE   BOY  APPRENTICED  TO  AN  ENCHANTER 

I  went  in  and  stood  on  the  floor  of  our  house  my 
heart  was  thumping  within  me  at  the  thought  of 
what  was  before. 

And  there  was  the  pot  boihng  over  the  fire  with 
a  few  green  herbs  in  it.  There  was  Saba,  my 
mother,  stirring  the  last  handful  of  meal  amongst 
the  green  herbs.  And  there  were  my  brothers, 
all  older  than  I,  sitting  by  the  fire,  waiting  for 
the  herbs  and  the  meal  to  be  ready. 

When  my  mother  looked  toward  us  she  saw  the 
man  from  the  strange  boat.  She  thought  that 
some  crime  had  been  committed  by  me  or  my  father 
to  bring  a  man  of  such  high  degree  amongst  us. 
She  and  my  brothers  were  greatly  afraid,  for  they 
were  poor,  and  those  who  were  high  were  harsh 
to  them.  But  the  stranger  spoke  softly,  saying, 
"Good  fortune  has  come  to  you  from  the  sea 
to-day."  And  when  they  all  turned  toward  him 
he  said,  "I  who  am  very  knowledgeable  will  take 
your  son  with  me  as  an  apprentice,  and  I  shall 
instruct  him  in  arts  and  crafts  and  mysteries." 

My  mother  said,  "The  boy  is  young,  sir,  and  we 
thought  he  would  be  with  us  for  a  time  longer." 

22 


THE  STORY  OF  EEAN  THE   FISHERMAN'S  SON 

But  the  man  from  the  strange  boat  said,  "I  would 
not  take  him  to  instruct  him  in  arts  and  crafts  and 
mysteries  if  he  were  a  day  older  than  he  is  now." 
He  said  no  more,  but  he  went  to  the  table  and  he 
laid  down  on  it  piece  after  piece  of  shining  gold. 

My  father  went  to  the  table  and  held  his  hands 
around  the  gold.  My  mother  looked  on  me  who 
was  just  twice  seven  years  old  that  day.  I  know 
she  thought  that  she  could  never  bear  to  part  with 
me.  But  then  she  looked  on  her  other  sons,  and 
she  saw  that  they  were  men  grown,  and  she  thought 
they  should  have  more  to  eat  than  the  meal  and 
the  green  herbs  that  were  in  the  pot.  She  threw 
her  arms  around  me  and  I  knew  it  was  a  last 
clasp. 

"He  will  have  to  go  into  far  places  to  learn  the 
arts  and  crafts  and  mysteries  that  I  would  teach 
him,"  the  stranger  said.  "Will  he  ever  come  back 
to  me.^*"  cried  my  mother.  "He  will  come  back 
to  you  when  his  cunning  baffles  my  cunning," 
was  what  the  stranger  said. 

My  father  took  the  gold  that  was  on  the  table 
and  made  it  into  a  heap.     My  mother  took  her 

23 


THE  BOY  APPRENTICED  TO  AN  ENCHANTER 

arms  from  around  my  neck,  and  my  brothers 
kissed  me  farewell.  Then  the  man  from  the 
strange  boat  opened  the  door  of  our  wattled  house 
and  went  out,  and  I  followed  him. 

We  did  not  go  back  to  the  place  where  he  had 
left  his  boat  of  brass.  We  went  to  another  place 
where  there  was  a  harbor  with  ships.  There  we 
found  a  ship  ready  to  sail  for  Urth. 

My  master  sent  me  on  board  to  ask  the  cap- 
tain if  he  would  take  us  on  a  voyage  beyond  Urth. 
The  captain  said  that  if  my  master  would  guide 
them  past  the  Magnetberg  he  would  give  him  the 
ship  to  sail  where  he  would  after  the  cargo  had  been 
landed.  My  master  said  he  would  do  this,  and  we 
went  on  board  the  ship.  It  was  evening  now,  and 
a  breeze  came  up,  and  the  ship  sailed  away, 
bringing  me  from  the  place  where  I  was  born  and 
reared  and  toward  the  strange  countries  that  were 
beyond  the  rim  of  the  sea.  I  asked  one  of  the 
sailors  what  was  the  Magnetberg,  and  he  told  me 
that  it  was  a  mountain  of  loadstone  that  drew  the 
iron  out  of  ships  that  came  near  it  and  left  them 
loosened  timbers  upon  the  water. 

24 


THE  STORY  OF  EEAN  THE  FISHERMAN'S  SON 

II.   The  Inaccessible  Island 

You  have  heard  me  so  far,  O  King.  Know 
now  that  the  one  to  whom  I  was  apprenticed  was 
an  Enchanter.  His  name  is  Zabulun,  and  in  all 
the  world  there  are  only  three  Enchanters  more 
powerful  than  he.  The  first  is  Chiron  the  Cen- 
taur, who  is  half  man  and  half  horse,  and  who 
taught  Achilles  and  made  him  the  greatest  of  the 
princes  who  had  gone  against  Troy.  The  second 
is  Hermes  Trismegistus,  the  wise  Egyptian.  And 
the  third  is  Merlin  the  Enchanter,  whose  home 
is  in  an  island  that  is  west  of  your  Western 
Island. 

When  the  night  came  on,  Zabulun  took  the 
steering  gear  into  his  hands,  and  he  steered  the 
ship  by  a  star  that  he  alone  knew.  When  the 
morning  came  we  saw  on  the  sea  all  around  us  the 
masts  and  the  spars  and  the  timbers  of  ships  that 
had  come  too  near  the  Magnetberg,  and  that  had 
lost  their  nails  and  bolts,  and  had  become  loosened 
timbers  on  the  waters.  Those  on  the  ship  were 
greatly  afraid,  and  the  captain  walked  up  and 

25 


THE  BOY  APPRENTICED  TO  AN  ENCHANTER 

down,  pulling  at  his  beard.  The  night  came  on, 
and  again  my  master  took  the  steering  gear  into 
his  own  hands  and  steered  the  ship  by  a  star  that 
he  alone  knew  of.  And  when  the  morning  came 
there  were  no  masts  and  spars  of  ships,  and  no 
loosened  timbers  afloat  on  the  waters.  The 
captain  laughed  and  made  all  on  the  ship  re- 
joice that  they  had  passed  the  dangerous  neighbor- 
hood of  the  Magnetberg  —  that  mountain  of 
loadstone  that  drew  the  iron  out  of  ships  as  a 
magnet  draws  pins  on  a  table. 

We  came  to  Urth.  The  great  cargo  that  was  on 
the  ship  was  for  the  King  of  Urth,  and  it  was  taken 
off  and  sent  over  the  mountain  to  the  King's 
city  in  packs  that  the  sailors  carried  on  their  backs. 
Then  the  captain  gave  the  ship  over  to  my  master 
to  sail  it  where  he  would. 

He  did  not  come  upon  the  land  nor  did  he  look 
upon  the  country  at  all.  But  when  the  last 
pack  had  been  carried  off  the  ship,  he  said  to  me : 

*'  You  will  have  to  do  this,  my  first  command  to 
you.  Go  on  the  land.  Stay  by  a  pool  that  is 
close  to  the  forest.     Birds  will  come  down  to  that 

26 


THE  STORY  OF  EEAN  THE  FISHERMAN'S  SON 

pool  —  birds  of  the  whiteness  of  swans,  but  smaller. 
Set  snares  and  catch  some  of  these  birds,  not  less 
than  four,  and  bring  them  to  me  uninjured." 

And  I  went  on  the  land  and  came  to  the  pool 
that  was  close  to  the  forest.  And  there  I  saw  the 
birds  that  were  of  the  whiteness  of  swans,  but 
smaller.  I  watched  them  for  a  while  so  that  T 
might  know  their  ways.  Then  I  made  a  crib  of 
rods  and  set  it  to  catch  the  birds.  One  went  under 
the  crib,  and  I  pulled  the  string  and  caught  the 
first  bird.  And  then,  hours  afterward,  I  caught 
another.  And  waiting  and  watching  very  care- 
fully, I  caught  a  third.  The  fourth  bird  was  wary, 
and  I  feared  I  should  not  catch  it,  for  night  was 
coming  down  and  the  birds  were  making  flocks  to 
fly  away.  One  remained  near  the  crib,  and  its 
neck  was  stretched  toward  it.  But  then  it  shook 
its  wings,  and  I  thought  it  was  going  to  fly  to  the 
others.  It  went  under  the  crib.  Then  I  pulled 
the  string  and  caught  the  fourth  bird. 

I  brought  the  birds  to  the  ship  and  my  master 
gave  them  grains  to  feed  on.  At  night  we  sailed 
away.     My  master  held  the  steering  gear  while  it 

27 


THE  BOY  APPRENTICED  TO  AN  ENCHANTER 

was  dark,  but  when  light  came  he  gave  it  to  me  to 
hold.  Then  he  unloosed  one  of  the  birds.  It 
flew  in  the  middle  distance,  winging  slowly,  and 
remaining  a  long  time  in  sight.  He  told  me  to 
hold  the  course  of  the  ship  to  the  flight  of  the 
bird. 

At  night  he  took  the  steering  gear  again  into 
his  hands  and  held  the  ship  on  her  course.  In  the 
daylight  he  unloosed  another  bird  and  bade  me 
steer  by  its  flight.  And  this  was  done  for  two 
more  days. 

The  morning  after  the  last  of  the  white  birds 
had  been  freed  my  master  bade  me  look  out  for 
land.  I  saw  something  low  upon  the  water.  *'It 
is  the  Inaccessible  Island,"  said  my  master, 
*'  where  I  have  my  dwelling  and  my  working  place.'* 
He  steered  the  ship  to  where  the  water  flowed 
swiftly  into  a  great  cave  that  was  like  a  dragon's 
mouth.  In  that  cave  there  was  a  place  for  the 
mooring  of  ships.  The  Enchanter  moored  the 
ship  in  its  place,  and  then  he  took  me  up  the  rocky 
landing  place. 

There  was  a  flight  of  great  steps  leading  from 

28 


THE  STORY  OF  EEAN  THE  FISHERMAN'S  SON 

the  landing  place  —  it  was  in  a  cave  as  I  have 
told  you  —  up  to  the  light  of  day.  There  were  a 
thousand  wide  black  steps  in  that  flight.  The 
Enchanter  took  into  his  hands  the  black  staflt 
that  was  shaped  as  two  serpents  twisting  together, 
and  he  took  me  with  him  up  the  stairway. 

We  came  out  on  a  level  place  and  I  saw  a  high 
castle  before  me.  There  was  no  wall  around  the 
castle,  and  there  was  no  gate  to  be  opened.  But 
when  I  came  near  it  I  found  I  could  take  no  step 
onward.  I  went  up,  and  I  went  down,  and  I 
tried  to  go  onward,  but  I  could  not.  Then 
Zabulun  the  Enchanter  said  to  me : 

"Around  this  castle  of  mine  is  a  wall  of  air. 
No  one  can  see  the  wall,  but  no  one  can  pass  it. 
And  a  bridge  of  air  crosses  my  wall  of  air. 
Come  now  with  me  and  I  will  take  you  over  the 
bridge." 

As  the  wall  of  air  that  went  round  the  En- 
chanter's castle  was  not  to  be  seen,  neither  was 
the  bridge  that  went  across  the  wall  of  air. 
But  I  saw  my  master  mounting  up  and  walking 
across    as    on    a    bridge.     And    although    I    saw 


THE  BOY  APPRENTICED  TO  AN  ENCHANTER 

nothing  before  me  nor  beneath  me,  I  mounted 
upon  something  and  walked  across  something. 
Following  him  I  went  downward  and  into  the 
courtyard  of  the  castle. 

Within  that  courtyard  there  was  a  horse  of  brass 
with  a  giant  man  of  brass  upon  it,  the  giant  man 
holding  a  great  bow  in  his  hands.  My  master 
said  to  me,  "If  one  came  over  the  bridge  of  air 
without  my  authority,  the  arrow  of  that  bow  would 
be  loosened,  and  he  who  came  across  the  bridge 
would  be  slain  by  this  giant  man  of  brass."  We 
went  within  the  castle.  In  the  hall  were  benches 
and  tables,  and  there  were  statues  holding  torches 
in  their  hands  standing  by  the  wall.  xAlso  in  that 
hall  there  was  the  statue  of  a  woman  holding  a 
dart  in  her  hand.  When  my  master  came  within, 
the  statue  that  held  the  dart  flung  it,  and  the 
dart  struck  a  gleaming  carbuncle  that  was  in  the 
wall.  Lights  came  into  the  torches  that  the 
statues  held,  and  all  the  hall  was  lighted  up. 

I  sat  with  my  master  at  a  table,  and  the  statues 
moved  to  us,  bringing  us  wine  and  fruits.  We  ate 
and  drank,  and  afterward  a  golden  figure  came  to 

30 


THE  STORY  OF  EEAN  THE  FISHERMAN'S  SON 

the   Enchanter,    and,    sitting   down   before   him, 
played  a  game  of  chess  with  him. 

The  next  day  my  master  showed  me  more  of 
the  wonders  of  the  Inaccessible  Island.  No  ships 
came  near,  for  there  was  no  way  to  come  to  that 
island  except  by  following  the  birds  that  were  of 
the  whiteness  of  a  swan  and  that  flew  always  in 
the  middle  distance.  On  this  island  Zabulun 
the  Enchanter  had  lived  for  longer  than  the  life- 
times of  many  men,  studying  magic  and  all  the 
ways  of  enchantment.  And  for  three  years  I, 
Eean,  the  son  of  the  fisherman  of  the  Western 
Island,  stayed  with  him,  learning  such  things  as 
were  proper  for  one  apprenticed  to  an  Enchanter 
to  know. 

III.   The  Enchanter  Goes  to  Babylon 

In  the  three  years  that  were  passed  in  the  In- 
accessible Island,  nothing  that  is  worth  my  telling 
happened,  O  King.  But  at  the  end  of  the  three 
years  my  master  said  to  me,  "We  will  leave  the 
Inaccessible  Island,  for  I  have  a  mighty  business 
before  me."     And  when  I  asked,  "Where  do  we 

31 


THE   BOY  APPRENTICED  TO  AN  ENCHANTER 

go,  O  master?'*  he  answered,  "We  go  to  Babylon." 
And  then,  when  it  was  the  first  day  after  the  new 
moon,  we  descended  the  black  stairway  that  led 
into  the  cave  where  the  waters  came.  There  we 
found  a  boat  of  brass  that  was  like  the  boat  that 
came  to  the  Western  Island  on  the  day  when  my 
father  and  I  were  fishing  in  the  pools  of  the  sea. 
We  went  into  that  boat  of  brass,  and  it  took  us 
through  the  water,  steering  itself.  We  rested 
on  lonely  islands,  and  at  last  we  came  to  a  main- 
land, and  there  the  Enchanter  left  the  boat 
to  sink  beneath  the  water.  As  travelers  then 
we  went  on.  We  came  to  a  town,  and  there 
my  master  bought  for  himself  and  me  the  dresses 
of  merchants.  Then  we  came  to  the  river  that 
flows  toward  Babylon.  Men  go  down  the  river 
in  round  boats  that  are  made  of  rods  woven  to- 
gether. In  every  boat  a  live  ass  is  carried,  and 
when  the  cargo  is  landed  the  boats  are  broken  up, 
for  they  cannot  go  back  against  the  current  of  the 
river.  And  the  cargo  is  loaded  on  the  ass  and 
brought  into  the  market  in  Babylon.  And  what- 
soever the  merchants  buy  in  Babylon  is  loaded 

32 


THE  STORY  OF  EEAN  THE  FISHERMAN'S  SON 

on  the  ass,  and  the  ass  is  driven  back  over  the 
mountains  into  the  country  that  they  came  from, 
these  men. 

And  in  such  boats  we  went  down  the  river  and 
came  into  Babylon.  No  city  in  the  world  is  as 
mighty  or  as  wonderful  as  Babylon.  It  has  three 
hundred  and  sixty -five  streets,  and  in  every  street 
there  are  three  hundred  and  sixty-five  palaces, 
and  to  every  palace  there  are  three  hundred  and 
sixty -five  steps  leading  up  to  its  door  of  gold  and 
ebony.  The  streets  when  we  came  into  them 
were  thronged  with  mighty,  black-bearded  men.  I 
was  much  in  dread  when  I  stood  in  those  great 
streets,  and  looked  on  the  mighty  men  who  went 
through  them. 

In  the  center  of  the  city  were  the  palace  and  the 
wide-spreading  gardens  of  the  King.  In  those 
gardens,  as  my  master  told  me,  were  one  or  two  of 
all  the  beautiful  or  terrible  animals  of  the  world. 
Those  gardens  I  will  speak  of  again,  O  King, 
for  it  was  within  them  that  I  came  upon  the 
danger  that  was  greater  than  the  danger  that 
I  am  now  in. 


THE   BOY  APPRENTICED  TO  AN  ENCHANTER 

But  first  the  Enchanter  showed  me  that  great 
wonder  that  was  near  the  gardens  —  the  Tower 
of  Babylon.  It  was  a  red  tower  mounting  very 
high  into  the  air.  Outside  of  it  there  were  steps 
that  went  round  it  and  to  the  very  top  of 
it  —  a  thousand  steps.  And  on  the  top  of 
the  tower,  resting  against  the  Spear  of  Nimrod, 
was  the  Magic  Mirror  of  Babylon.  Zabulun  the 
Enchanter  made  me  look  to  the  top,  and  I  was 
made  fearful  by  looking  so  high. 

Oh,  that  I  might  tell  you,  King  Manus,  of  the 
wonders  of  the  Tower  of  Babylon  !  In  the  shadow 
of  it  there  slept  two  mighty  ones  —  the  two  Genii 
who  guarded  Babylon,  Harut  and  Marut  they  were 
named.  Giant  beings  they  were.  As  they  slept 
there  the  beard  of  each  was  spread  across  his 
mighty  chest,  and  it  was  a  beard  so  broad  that 
no  horse  of  the  mighty  horses  that  the  King  owned 
could  leap  across  it.  Very  great  but  very  old 
were  Harut  and  Marut,  the  Genii  who  guarded 
Babylon. 

I  was  made  fearful  by  looking  to  the  top  of  the 
tower.     And  then  I  was  made  still  more  fearful 

34 


THE  STORY  OF  EEAN  THE  FISHERMAN'S  SON 

by  the  words  that  Zabulun  said  to  me.  "We  have 
come  here,"  he  said,  "to  steal  the  Magic  Mirror 
of  the  Babylonians. 

"It  is  there  on  the  top  of  the  tower,"  said  the 
Enchanter,  "resting  against  the  Spear  of  Nimrod. 
One  looking  into  that  mirror  sees  all  the  Kings 
of  the  world.  The  one  who  threatens  Babylon 
is  shown  with  a  spear  raised  in  his  hand.  And  if 
a  King  should  bring  an  army  against  Babylon, 
the  number  of  its  men  and  the  ways  by  which  it 
comes  would  be  shown  in  the  mirror.  The  Baby- 
lonians, by  means  of  this  Magic  Mirror  of  theirs, 
are  always  ready  for  their  enemies,  and  because  of 
this  no  King  in  all  the  world  will  venture  to  make 
war  on  Babylon. 

"  But  we  shall  steal  the  mirror  and  make  the 
Tower  of  Babylon  fall.  Know  that  I,  Zabulun, 
was  once  a  Prince  of  Babylon.  They  dishonored 
me,  the  men  of  Babylon,  and  drove  me  out  of  their 
city.  And  for  that  I  shall  make  an  end  of  their 
pride  and  an  end  of  their  security. 

"Fear  not.  It  will  not  be  hard  to  steal  the  mir- 
ror and  throw  down  the  tower.     Know  that  the 

35 


THE  BOY  APPRENTICED  TO  AN  ENCHANTER 

King  of  the  city  is  a  foolish  King,  and  that  he 
cares  only  for  his  gardens  and  for  the  beautiful 
and  terrible  beasts  that  he  can  bring  into  them. 
And  as  for  the  Genii  who  guard  Babylon  —  behold 
them  !  They  are  mighty  beings,  truly,  Harut  and 
Marut !  Immeasurably  old  are  they,  and  they 
pass  their  days  in  sleep  beside  the  tower  that  they 
guard.  I  say  to  you  that  it  will  not  be  hard  to  over- 
throw the  tower,  and  take  away  from  the  Baby- 
lonians the  Magic  Mirror  that  is  their  security." 

As  Zabulun  spoke  the  terrible  beasts  in  the 
King's  gardens  roared  mightily,  and  Harut  and 
Marut,  the  mighty  beings  who  slept  in  the  shadow 
of  the  Tower  of  Babylon,  turned  in  their  sleeping. 
The  flocks  of  birds  that  had  built  nests  in  their 
beards  (the  oldest  owl  and  the  littlest  humming 
bird  were  amongst  them)  flew  up  and  rested  on  the 
steps  of  the  tower. 

The  black-bearded  men  of  Babylon  passed  in 
their  throngs,  while  he  who  was  once  a  prince  in 
their  city,  and  who  was  now  Zabulun  the  En- 
chanter, stood  there  with  his  staff  in  his  hands  and 
smiling  to  himself.     And  I,  Eean,  The  Boy  Ap- 


THE  STORY  OF  EEAN  THE  FISHERMAN'S  SON 

prenticed  to  the  Enchanter,  felt  as  if  I  were  fall- 
ing, falling  down  from  the  top  of  the  tower. 

IV.   The  Palace  of  the  King  of  Babylon 

And  now  at  the  supper  board  of  King  Manus 
those  who  were  eating,  or  drinking,  or  whispering 
to  each  other  as  the  youth  began  his  story,  became 
silent  and  eager  when  he  spoke  of  Babylon  and 
the  Tower  of  Babylon.  The  King  himself  was 
fain  to  hear  about  that  city  that  was  the  greatest 
in  the  world,  and  about  the  King  who  was  the 
mightiest  of  all  Kings,  and  he  commanded  the 
attendants  to  cease  going  here  and  there.  So  the 
servers  and  chamberlains  and  stewards,  with  the 
dishes,  and  napkins,  and  rods  of  office  in  their 
hands,  stood  still  behind  those  who  were  seated  at 
the  table.  The  lords  leaned  forward  with  their 
eyes  upon  the  youth  who  sat  in  the  story-teller's 
place,  and  the  King  made  a  sign  for  him  to  tell 
on.  But  the  youth  Eean  was  speechless  for  a 
while.  Such  was  the  memory  of  the  high  Tower 
of  Babylon  upon  him  that  had  he  been  standing 
he  would  have  fallen  down.     His  head  sank  on 

37 


THE  BOY  APPRENTICED  TO  AN  ENCHANTER 

the  arm  rest  of  the  chair,  and  those  near  him  who 
touched  his  hand  felt  it  chilled.  Then  King 
Manus  signed  for  a  chamberlain  to  go  to  him,  and 
he  went  and  wiped  Eean's  brow  with  a  napkin, 
and  then  brought  him  a  goblet  of  the  richest  wine. 
He  raised  up  his  head  and  drank,  and  looked  down 
the  table,  and  saw  the  high  candles  that  burned 
brightly,  and  saw  the  face  of  the  King  and  the 
faces  of  the  lords  who  sat  with  the  King.  But  for 
a  while  his  look  was  the  look  of  a  man  whose  spirit 
is  in  another  place.  He  heard  the  words  that  were 
spoken  around  him  —  words  that  were  about  the 
King  of  Babylon,  and  the  King  of  Babylon's 
palace.  The  youth  caught  at  these  words,  and 
went  on  to  speak  of  what  befell  him. 

The  walls  of  the  King's  palace  (said  Eean,  The 
Boy  Apprenticed  to  an  Enchanter)  make  seven 
circles,  one  wall  rising  higher  than  the  other,  and 
each  wall  having  a  different  color.  The  first 
wall  is  white,  the  second  wall  is  black,  and  the 
third  wall  is  scarlet;  the  fourth  wall  is  blue,  the 
fifth  wall  is  orange,  the  sixth  wall  is  plated  with 

38 


THE  STORY  OF  EEAN  THE  FISHERMAN'S  SON 

silver,  and  the  seventh  wall  is  plated  with  gold. 
I  was  filled  with  wonder  when  I  looked  on  the  walls 
of  the  King's  palace. 

The  Enchanter  that  day  had  put  on  the  dress 
of  a  merchant,  but  under  it  he  had  left  his  own 
garb  —  the  straight  dress  that  had  the  curious 
figures  upon  it.  He  took  into  his  hand  the  staff 
that  was  made  of  two  serpents  twisting  together, 
and  he  told  me  that  the  time  had  come  to  go  to 
the  palace  and  speak  with  the  King. 

At  an  early  hour,  before  it  was  yet  market 
time,  we  went  through  the  streets  of  the  city.  The 
soldiers  let  us  pass  through  the  Gate  of  Brass  along 
a  way  that  has  on  each  side  great  lions  carved  in 
stone.  We  came  to  the  palace,  and  my  master 
spoke  to  the  doorkeepers  and  they  permitted  us 
to  enter.  We  went  through  the  outer  courts  where 
there  were  soldiers  who  carried  naked  swords  in 
their  hands.  And  because  my  master  gave  him- 
self out  to  be  a  merchant  from  far-off  parts,  and 
because  the  King  greatly  desired  to  speak  with 
those  who  came  from  far-off  parts,  we  were  brought 
into  the  presence  of  the  King  of  Babylon. 

39 


THE  BOY  APPRENTICED  TO  AN  ENCHANTER 

He  looked,  O  King  Manus,  like  a  King  that  was 
of  a  long  line  of  Kings.  His  black  beard  was  pow- 
dered with  gold,  and  spices  burned  before  him. 
But  his  face  was  white,  and  it  was  like  to  the  face 
of  a  man  in  a  dream.  Only  one  person  stood 
near  him  —  a  dwarf  from  the  Country  of  the 
Dwarfs.  He  had  on  his  head  a  crown  of  scarlet 
feathers. 

When  we  came  before  him,  and  after  we  had 
bowed,  the  King  looked  upon  us.  He  spoke  to 
my  master,  and  said,  "What  have  you  to  sell, 
merchant  ?'' 

And  my  master,  before  he  spoke,  let  fall  his 
merchant's  robe,  and  he  showed  himself  in  the 
straight  garb  that  was  covered  with  curious  figures 
—  the  garb  of  a  Magus  it  was. 

"What  I  have  to  sell,"  he  said,  "is  the  meaning 
of  dreams,  O  King." 

And  now,  O  King  Manus,  I  have  to  tell  of  a 
cheat  worked  upon  a  King,  and  of  a  cheat  worked 
by  my  master,  Zabulun  the  Enchanter,  upon  the 
King  of  Babylon.  Pretending  to  speak  of  the 
meaning  of  dreams  he  led  the  King  to  destruction, 

40 


THE  STORY  OF  EEAN  THE  FISHERMAN'S  SON 

hoping  thereby  to  encompass  the  destruction  of 
Babylon. 

The  King  turned  to  his  ancient  dwarf  and  he 
said,  *' Remind  me  of  my  dreams."  And  then  the 
ancient  dwarf  said  to  the  King,  "Of  the  three 
dreams  that  seemed  remarkable  to  you,  O  King, 
the  first  was  the  Dream  of  the  Three  Dishes." 

*'It  is  even  so,"  said  the  King.  *'I  dreamed  that 
there  were  three  dishes  set  before  me,  no  more  than 
three  dishes.  And  then  I  dreamed  that  after- 
ward these  three  dishes  were  hidden  from  me 
and  were  not  to  be  found.  There  was  no  one  to 
tell  me  the  signification  of  this  dream." 

"The  signification  of  this  dream,"  said  Zabulun 
the  Enchanter  cunningly,  "is  easy  to  discover. 
In  the  lore  of  the  Chaldeans  a  dish  signifies  a  treas- 
ure. You  have  dreamed  of  a  threefold  treasure 
that  is  hidden  away." 

But  the  dwarf  who  was  beside  the  King  spoke 
up  and  said,  "Why  does  a  dish  signify  a  treasure ?" 

"That  is  something  I  may  not  reveal,"  said  my 
master,  Zabulun  the  Enchanter,  and  he  turned  to 
the  dwarf  the  staff  that  was  formed  of  two  ser- 

41 


THE  BOY  APPRENTICED  TO  AN  ENCHANTER 

pents  twisting  together.  The  end  of  the  staff 
lifted  itself  as  though  the  serpents  were  rising 
up.  The  dwarf  covered  his  eyes,  and  cried  out, 
"O  Magus!" 

"Remind  me  of  the  second  dream  that  was 
considered  remarkable,"  said  the  King.  And  the 
dwarf  said,  "The  second  dream  was  the  Dream  of 
the  Laden  Ass." 

"  It  is  even  so,"  said  the  King.  "  I  dreamed  that 
I  looked  down  the  Way  of  the  Lions,  and  there 
came  along  the  way  a  laden  ass.  Of  that  dream 
also  those  skilled  in  the  signification  of  dreams 
could  tell  me  nothing." 

"And  yet  the  dream  is  plain,"  said  the  En- 
chanter, looking  full  into  the  eyes  of  the  King. 
"A  laden  ass  signifies  a  treasure  found  —  your 
dream  is  of  a  treasure  being  brought  into  your 
palace." 

"It  is  so,"  said  the  ancient  dwarf  with  the  crown 
of  scarlet  feathers  upon  his  head.  "In  dreams  an 
ass  is  always  laden  with  treasure." 

"And  what  was  my  third  dream?"  said  the 
King. 

4^ 


THE  STORY  OP  EEAN  THE  FISHERMAN'S  SON 

"Your  third  dream,"  said  the  ancient  dwarf, 
"was  the  Dream  of  the  Arrows." 

"It  is  even  so,"  said  the  King.  "I  dreamed 
of  arrows  that  were  shot  upward  to  a  great  height." 

And  then  the  King  was  silent,  and  he  and  the 
dwarf  looked  long  upon  Zabulun  the  Enchanter. 
But  Zabulun  took  a  step  nearer  to  them,  and  he 
said : 

"In  the  lore  of  the  Chaldeans,  arrows  shot  up- 
ward signify  a  very  high  tower.  I  can  tell  you 
now  the  significance  of  your  three  dreams,  O  King. 
They  are  of  a  treasure  that  is  to  come  into  your 
possession.  The  treasure  is  hidden.  It  is  hidden 
beneath  a  tower.  The  height  to  which  the  arrows 
were  shot  shows  that  the  treasure  is  hidden  under 
the  highest  of  towers  —  under  the  Tower  of  Baby- 
lon." 

At  the  mention  of  the  Tower  of  Babylon,  O 
King  of  the  Western  Island,  a  great  fear  came  over 
me,  for  I  knew  that  it  was  now  that  Zabulun's 
plan  for  the  taking  of  the  Magic  Mirror  was  being 
put  into  practice.  And  it  seemed  to  me  that  fear 
came  over    the    ancient  dwarf    too,  for    he    fell 

43 


THE   BOY  APPRENTICED  TO  AN  ENCHANTER 

down  upon  his  face.  But  rage  grew  in  the  King, 
and  his  black  brows  drew  together  in  a  frown. 

"Are  you  one  who  would  have  the  King  make 
search  for  treasure  beneath  the  Tower  of  Baby- 
lon ?"  he  cried  out. 

"No  search  need  be  made  there,"  said  Zabulun 
the  Enchanter.  "And  yet  if  the  King  should 
dream  of  treasure  again  it  is  proper  that  he  should 
sacrifice  a  black  cock  upon  the  place  where  the 
treasure  has  been  shown  to  be  hidden.  If  that 
be  done  the  dream  will  be  banished  and  will  come 
to  the  King  no  more.  I  speak  as  a  Magus.  But 
now  I  have  shown  you  the  meaning  of  the  three 
dreams,  and  there  is  no  more  to  be  shown."  And 
saying  this  the  Enchanter  put  the  garb  of  a  mer- 
chant over  the  robe  of  the  Magus.  A  cup  was 
handed  to  him  and  a  cup  was  handed  to  me  also. 
This  was  to  signify  to  us  that  our  speech  with 
the  King  was  at  an  end.  There  was  wine  in  our 
cups,  but  bitterness  had  been  mixed  with  the  wine, 
to  signify  that  what  had  been  told  the  King  was 
not  pleasing  to  him. 

We  went  from  the  presence  of  the  King,  and 

44 


THE  STORY  OF  EEAN  THE  FISHERMAN'S  SON 

when  we  were  far  outside  the  palace  my  master 
said  to  me : 

"It  will  come  about  that  the  King  will  search 
for  the  treasure  that  I  have  put  into  his  dreams. 
Moreover,  he  will  speak  to  others  of  this  treasure, 
and  they,  too,  will  search  for  it.  It  will  come 
about  that  these  many  searchers,  digging  for 
the  treasure,  will  break  upon  the  foundations  of 
the  Tower  of  Babylon.  Thereupon  I  will  take  the 
Magic  Mirror  and  make  myself  the  master  of  the 
Babylonians." 

This  he  said  to  me  as  I  went  with  him  from  the 
King's  palace  along  the  Way  of  the  Lions.  I  was 
affrighted,  and  it  seemed  to  me  that  the  lions  that 
were  in  stone  looked  ragefully  down  on  us  as  we 
passed. 

V.   The  King  of  Babylon 

We  lived  for  a  whole  moon  in  Babylon,  my 
master  Zabulun  and  I,  before  the  danger  that  was 
greater  than  the  danger  that  is  upon  me  now 
showed  itself  to  me.  Just  before  the  hour  of  the 
market  we  would  go  through  the  streets  of  the 

45 


THE  BOY  APPRENTICED  TO  AN  ENCHANTER 

city  and  toward  the  great  market  place.  Throngs 
of  people  would  be  there,  gathered  together  for 
buying  or  selling,  or  for  talk  of  the  happenings 
of  the  day  before.  My  master  would  take  me  to 
a  shady  place,  and  we  would  sit  there,  resting  or 
refreshing  ourselves  with  draughts  of  the  wine  of 
the  palm. 

And  Zabulun  would  tell  me  that  the  King  we 
had  spoken  with  was  the  most  foolish  King  who 
had  ever  ruled  over  Babylon.  "Great  and  terri- 
ble he  seems  when  he  sits  upon  his  throne  in  his 
palace,"  Zabulun  would  say,  "but  for  all  that  he 
is  foolish,  and  he  delights  more  to  come  into  the 
market  and  hear  the  talk  of  strangers  than  to  sit 
in  his  council  chamber." 

Again  and  again  Zabulun  would  speak  of  the 
King,  and  he  would  say:  "Often  he  comes  here, 
and  he  sits  in  the  market  place  and  talks  with  all 
comers,  which  is  against  the  customs  of  the  Kings 
of  Babylon.  We  will  see  him  come  here,  and  we 
will  watch  him  do  what  is  reported  of  him." 

Seated  in  the  market  in  a  shady  place  I  would 
watch  the  throngs  that  moved  about  there.     I 

46 


THE  STORY  OP  EEAN  THE  FISHERMAN'S  SON 

saw  the  merchants  who  had  come  down  the  river 
in  such  round  boats  as  we  had  voyaged  in.  They 
brought  casks  of  the  wine  of  the  palm  to  the  market. 
And  I  saw  those  who  had  come  from  Arabia  with 
spices,  and  my  master  would  tell  me  how  these 
spices  had  been  gathered.  Some  had  frankin- 
cense that  grows  on  trees  that  are  guarded  by 
winged  serpents.  Only  with  smoke  of  burning 
styrax  could  they  drive  the  serpents  from  the  trees. 
And  others  had  cassia  that  is  found  in  a  shallow 
lake  guarded  by  fierce,  bat-like  creatures.  To 
gather  it  men  have  to  cover  themselves  all  over 
with  the  hides  of  cattle,  leaving  openings  for  their 
eyes  only.  And  there  are  the  merchants  who  have 
the  ladanum  that  settles  on  low  bushes,  and  that 
sticks  to  the  beards  of  he-goats  that  go  amongst 
the  bushes.  Others  have  the  cinnamon  that  is 
used  by  birds  to  build  their  nests  against  high 
cliffs.  Men  cannot  climb  these  cliffs  to  gather  the 
sticks  of  cinnamon,  but  they  make  the  birds  bring 
into  their  nests  such  weights  as  break  the  nests 
down  and  so  strew  on  the  ground  the  sticks  of 
cinnamon.     They  slaughter  cattle  under  the  cliffs, 

47 


THE  BOY  APPRENTICED  TO  AN  ENCHANTER 

and  the  birds  fly  into  their  nests  with  great  pieces 
of  the  meat,  and  the  weight  of  these  pieces  of  meat 
breaks  down  the  nests.  And  so  men  gather  cin- 
namon in  Arabia. 

And  one  day  my  master  showed  me  the  King 
of  Babylon  as  he  came  into  the  market  place. 

He  wore  a  black  cloak  that  had  only  one  stripe 
of  purple  in  it,  and  a  boy  went  beside  him  holding 
an  Indian  hound  in  a  leash.  Having  come  into 
the  market  the  King  seated  himself  in  a  special 
place,  and  he  drank  wine  and  ate  honey  cakes, 
and  talked  with  the  strangers  that  were  brought 
before  him,  and  let  himself  be  gaped  at  by  throngs 
of  people.  And  then,  from  one  to  another  of 
those  who  were  around  him,  my  master  and  I 
heard  it  said,  "The  King,  surely,  has  had  re- 
markable dreams." 

In  three  days  my  master  was  sent  for  by  the 
King,  and  he  came  into  the  palace  again  bringing 
me  with  him,  and  he  was  saluted  as  a  Magus. 
The  King's  dreams  were  told  to  him.  The  first 
dream  was  of  a  drinking  cup  that  blazed  with  fire, 
and  the  second  dream  was  of  a  ram-headed  man 

48 


THE  STORY  OF  EEAN  THE  FISHERMAN'S  SON 

with  golden  horns,  and  the  third  dream  was  of  a 
soldier  in  a  black  cloak.  All  those  dreams,  ac- 
cording to  those  in  the  palace  who  considered 
dreams,  were  of  a  treasure.  Zabulun,  my  master, 
agreed  that  assuredly  they  were  of  a  treasure, 
knowing  that  whatever  the  King  dreamed  of  after 
he  had  put  the  thought  of  a  treasure  into  the  minds 
of  those  in  the  palace  would  be  thought  to  be  of 
that  and  of  nothing  else. 

Then  speaking  as  a  Magus  he  told  them  that 
the  blazing  fire  of  the  drinking  cup,  the  golden 
horns  on  the  ram-headed  man,  and  the  blackness 
of  the  soldier's  cloak  all  signified  the  Tower  of 
Babylon.  The  King  and  the  ancient  dwarf  be- 
came very  silent  when  my  master  spoke  of  the 
tower.  It  was  then  that  the  Enchanter  took  the 
staff  that  was  made  of  two  serpents  twisting 
together  into  his  right  hand,  and  declared  that  in 
order  to  make  the  dream  of  the  tower  cease  to 
trouble  him,  the  King  should  sacrifice  a  black  cock 
in  the  lowest  place  of  the  tower. 

Wine  was  brought  us  then,  and  my  master  and 
I  drank,  and  this  time  no  bitterness  had  been  put 

49 


i:-^UM^-fT^ 


"S 


U^  \\  y^'-'  ^ 


t3 


^^ 


50 


THE  STORY  OF  EEAN  THE  FISHERMAN'S  SON 

into  the  wine.  We  were  given  permission  to  go, 
and  we  went  from  the  palace. 

As  for  the  King  and  the  ancient  dwarf  who  was 
with  him,  they  took  horses  and  they  rode  to  the 
Tower  of  Babylon,  the  dwarf  bringing  with  him  a 
black  cock  for  the  sacrifice.  Harut  and  Marut, 
the  sleeping  guardians  of  Babylon,  they  looked  on, 
but  they  went  past  them  and  within  the  tower. 
In  the  lowest  place  in  the  tower  they  made  prepa- 
rations for  the  sacrifice  of  the  black  cock. 

Zabulun  and  I  sat  in  the  market  place  and 
waited,  for  my  master  said  to  me,  "That  which 
happens  to  the  King,  no  matter  how  great  it  may 
be,  he  will  speak  of  it  in  the  market.  We  shall  wait 
here  and  see  if  the  King  will  come  here  on  his  way 
back  from  the  tower." 

So  in  the  market  place  we  sat,  my  master  and 
I.  And  in  the  tower  the  King  and  the  ancient 
dwarf  took  the  black  cock  and  fastened  him  by 
a  leg  to  a  ring  that  was  in  a  very  light  board  in 
the  floor.  The  cock,  fluttering  upward,  lifted  the 
board.  Looking  down  they  saw  a  chamber  be- 
neath.    They  went  down  into  that  chamber,  the 

51 


THE  BOY  APPRENTICED  TO  AN  ENCHANTER 

King  and  the  ancient  dwarf,  and  behold !  they 
found  in  it  a  treasure  of  silver  pieces,  each  piece 
marked  with  the  mark  of  a  King  of  the  old  times 
in  Babylon. 

Soon  Zabulun,  seated  in  the  shade  in  the  market 
place,  showed  me  the  King  and  the  ancient  dwarf 
as  they  came  amongst  the  throng.  The  King 
seated  himself  in  his  special  place  and  drank 
wine  and  ate  cakes  of  honey.  My  master,  watch- 
ing him  from  afar,  knew  that  he  talked  about  the 
treasure  he  had  found.  For  the  dwarf  who  went 
with  him  opened  a  leather  bag  and  showed  cer- 
tain pieces  that  made  those  around  them  gape  in 
wonder. 

Not  long  were  the  King  and  the  ancient  dwarf 
there  before  the  Hour  of  the  Market  came  to  its 
close.  Those  in  the  market  left  and  went  to  their 
homes.  My  master  and  I  likewise  departed. 
But  those  who  had  listened  to  the  King  brought 
with  them  the  memory  of  the  wonder  they  had 
been  told  about.  A  treasure  was  hidden  beneath 
the  tower  —  that  was  the  thought  that  now  pos- 
sessed  every   one.     And   when   dusk   had   fallen 

52 


THE  STORY  OP  EEAN  THE  FISHERMAN'S  SON 

upon  the  city  companies  of  men  made  their  way 
toward  the  tower,  carrying  with  them  spades  and 
mattocks.  The  next  day,  when  the  King  came 
with  the  ancient  dwarf,  he  found  that  all  around 
the  tower,  and  all  around  the  place  where  Harut 
and  Marut  slept,  trenches  and  holes  had  been 
dug. 

He  himself,  with  a  company  of  men,  went  down 
into  the  lower  chamber  where  the  treasure  of 
silver  pieces  had  been  found,  and  there  they  began 
to  delve.     The  King  found  no  treasure  that  day. 

When  he  came  out  of  the  lower  chamber  he  found 
many  around  the  tower  digging  and  delving.  He 
forbade  them  to  do  this,  and  he  set  guards  around 
the  tower.  But  in  the  night  those  who  were  set 
to  guard  the  tower  began  to  delve. 

The  digging  and  delving  within  and  around  the 
tower  went  on  in  secret  as  well  as  openly.  My 
master  took  me  to  show  me  what  was  being  done. 
"Foolish  is  the  King,  and  foolish  are  the  people 
of  Babylon,"  he  said.  "What  I  have  told  you 
will  befall  them.  Very  soon  they  will  strike  at 
the  foundations  of  the  tower,  and  the  tower  will 

53 


THE  BOY  APPRENTICED  TO  AN  ENCHANTER 

stand  no  more.  Then  will  I  take  to  myself  the 
Magic  Mirror,  and  make  myself  the  master  of 
the  Babylonians." 

VI.   The  Genii  Who  Guarded  Babylon 

O  King  of  the  Western  Island  (said  Eean,  The 
Boy  Apprenticed  to  an  Enchanter),  I  was  there  in 
Babylon  for  the  whole  of  a  moon  before  the  danger 
that  was  greater  than  my  present  danger  overtook 
me.  Often  Zabulun,  my  master,  went  to  the 
palace  of  the  King,  bringing  me  with  him.  And 
the  King  would  now  receive  us  in  his  cool  chamber, 
and  he  would  permit  my  master  to  seat  himself 
on  a  purple  cushion  in  his  presence.  The  King 
would  ask  him  about  the  ways  of  governing  a 
kingdom,  or  he  would  tell  him  of  his  wonderful 
gardens,  and  of  the  strange  and  terrible  beasts 
he  had  there.  Or  else  he  would  talk  about  a 
mighty  treasure  that  was  to  be  found,  and  of  the 
beasts  he  would  buy  for  his  gardens  when  that 
treasure  came  into  his  hands.  Zabulun  would 
tell  the  King  of  beasts  he  had  seen  or  heard  of  — 
of  the  aurochs  with  its  mighty  horns,  of  the  uni- 

54 


THE  STORY  OF  EEAN  THE  FISHERMAN'S  SON 

corn  that  was  so  white  and  so  swift,  of  the  satyr 
that  is  so  marvelous  that  no  one  knew  whether 
it  was  a  wonderful  beast  or  a  wild  man.  And 
often,  as  they  sat  there  talking,  the  King  would 
have  his  servants  stir  up  the  beasts  in  his  gardens 
so  that  their  roarings  might  be  heard  by  those  in 
the  palace. 

Over  the  King  and  the  King's  ancient  dwarf 
there  had  come  a  change,  I  thought.  For  the 
dwarf  with  the  crown  of  crimson  feathers  on  his 
head  would  stand  silent  before  the  throne,  silent 
even  though  the  King  spoke  to  him,  silent  as  if 
listening  to  the  sound  that  the  spades  and  mattocks 
made  on  the  ground  around  the  Tower  of  Babylon. 
And  the  King  no  longer  had  the  look  of  a  ruler  on 
his  face,  but  had  the  look  of  a  watcher  and  a 
waiter.  There  had  come  a  change  over  my  master 
also.  Zabulun  the  Enchanter  had  eyes  like  yellow 
lamps,  and  they  had  become  wider  and  more 
gleaming  as  the  digging  and  delving  around  the 
Tower  of  Babylon  went  on.  I  could  see  his  eyes 
widening  in  the  dark  when  I  could  hardly  see  his 
face.     And  I  began  to  have  a  great  fear  of  Zabulun, 

55 


THE  BOY  APPRENTICED  TO  AN  ENCHANTER 

even  though  he  was  kind  to  me,  and  had  taught 
me  many  things. 

And  now  I  come  to  the  day  when  that  danger 
beset  me  that  was  greater  than  my  present  danger. 
That  morning  I  had  walked  in  the  King's  gardens 
with  Zabulun,  my  master.  I  saw  the  great  palm 
trees  that  grew  there.  So  high  and  so  shapely 
they  grew  that  I  was  made  to  think  again  of  the 
Tower  of  Babylon,  and  I  was  shaken  by  my 
thought.  I  looked  along  the  great  avenue  of 
palms,  and  I  saw  down  to  the  lake  where  the  King's 
blue  herons  flew.  And  from  the  lake  coming 
toward  us  I  saw  a  young  girl.  She  had  laid  the 
long  blue  feathers  of  the  heron  across  her  breast, 
and  I  saw  her  white  forehead  and  her  white  knees, 
for  her  dress  was  the  dress  of  a  woman  of  the  moun- 
tains. But  she,  seeing  Zabulun  and  I,  sprang  as 
a  young  deer  springs,  and  went  amongst  the  palm 
trees.  I  kept  thinking  of  that  girl,  and  how  free 
she  was,  and  how  no  terror  of  a  falling  tower 
beset  her  as  she  went  by  the  lake  where  the  King's 
blue  herons  flew  or  rested. 

Again  Zabulun,  my  master,  sat  in  the  King's 

56 


THE  STORY  OF  EEAN  THE  FISHERMAN'S  SON 

presence,  and  the  ancient  dwarf  and  I  attended 
on  them.  The  dwarf's  head  hung  down  where  he 
stood,  and  he  muttered.  The  King's  voice  was 
low  when  he  spoke,  but  Zabulun  spoke  loudly. 
Also  his  yellow  eyes  shone  as  he  twisted  around 
his  finger  a  purple  strip  that  had  been  torn  off  the 
King's  robe. 

And  suddenly  there  came  the  mighty  roaring 
of  beasts  in  the  King's  gardens.  The  dwarf 
looked  at  the  King,  and  the  King  spoke  to  the 
dwarf,  and  there  was  astonishment  on  both  their 
countenances,  for  no  command  had  been  given  to 
have  the  beasts  stirred  up.  The  King  rose  from 
where  he  sat  and  went  to  the  doorway.  I,  too, 
saw  what  he  saw.  The  doorkeepers,  and  even  the 
soldiers  who  had  naked  swords  in  their  hands,  were 
fleeing  as  before  some  terror.  The  King  shouted 
his  commands,  but  no  one  heeded  them.  I  looked 
upon  the  King,  and  the  King's  wrath  was  terrible 
to  behold. 

And  then  I  saw  the  King  himself  draw  back  in 
fear.  What  was  it  that  approached?  I,  too, 
looked,  and  there,  O  King  Manus,  as  I  declare 

57 


THE  BOY  APPRENTICED  TO  AN  ENCHANTER 

to  you,  I  saw  Harut  and  Marut,  the  giant  guard- 
ians of  Babylon,  come  through  the  outer  courts 
and  toward  the  chamber  where  the  King  stood. 

They  were  naked  but  for  their  great  beards  and 
their  flowing  hair.  They  came  with  great  strides, 
but  their  heads  and  their  hands  were  swaying  about 
Hke  the  heads  and  hands  of  men  suddenly  waked 
out  of  a  deep  slumber.  The  ancient  dwarf  saw 
them  approach,  and  he  screamed  out  and  fled. 

The  King  went  out  of  the  chamber  and  into  the 
hall  where  the  great  pillars  were.  I  called  to  my 
master,  and  he  arose  from  the  cushions  where  he 
sat,  and  he  looked  upon  the  two  who  came  nearer. 
Along  the  line  of  the  pillars  Harut  and  Marut 
came,  but  Zabulun  the  Enchanter  looked  upon 
them  without  fear. 

The  King  fell  upon  his  knees  as  they  came  near 
him.  My  master's  face  did  not  become  fearful, 
but  he,  too,  went  down  on  his  knees  as  if  powerful 
and  unseen  hands  had  forced  him  down.  His 
eyes  did  not  lose  their  look  of  scorn,  but  he  knelt 
even  as  the  King  knelt.  The  King  and  the  En- 
chanter were  both  Princes  of  Babylon,  and  when 

58 


THE  STORY  OF  EEAN  THE  FISHERMAN'S  SON 

Harut  and  Marut  showed  themselves  in  their 
might,  there  was  that  within  them  that  forced 
them  to  sink  down  on  their  knees. 

And  nearer  and  nearer  Harut  and  Marut  came, 
their  heads  swaying  about  and  their  arms  hanging 
down.  Nearer  and  nearer  they  drew.  They 
touched  the  head  of  the  King,  and  the  King  lay 
prone  on  the  ground  as  though  the  life  had  left 
him.  They  came  to  where  Zabulun  the  Enchanter 
knelt.  But  not  on  Zabulun's  head  did  they  lay 
their  hands.  They  took  him  by  the  arms  and  they 
held  him.  Turning  around  they  dragged  him 
along  the  line  of  the  pillars.  I  saw  him  being 
drawn  across  the  outer  court  and  through  one  of 
the  great  doorways  of  the  King's  palace. 

And  then  it  seemed  that  I  was  the  only  one  left 
in  the  palace  of  the  Kings  of  Babylon.  The  King 
did  not  stir  where  he  lay  prone,  and  the  dwarf 
did  not  return,  and  the  doorkeepers  did  not  show 
themselves  any  more.  I  ran  from  the  chamber, 
and  out  through  one  of  the  great  doors,  and  into  a 
place  where  branches  of  trees  seemed  to  shield  me 
from  the  terror  that  had  fallen  upon  the  palace. 

59 


THE  BOY  APPRENTICED  TO  AN  ENCHANTER 

And  I  did  not  know  then  that  I  was  running  from 
terror  clear  into  the  mouth  of  danger. 

For  dire  things  had  happened  outside  as  well 
as  within  the  palace  of  the  King.  The  beasts 
that  were  in  the  gardens  had  broken  out  of  their 
pits  and  their  cages.  I  saw  the  beasts  and  I  felt 
them  all  around  me.  I  saw  the  hippopotami  as 
they  lay  with  their  backs  against  the  crimson  wall 
of  the  palace.  I  saw  the  zebras  stamp  between 
the  yellow  wall  and  the  blue  wall,  and  ostriches 
run  between  the  black  and  the  white  walls. 
And  when  I  looked  back  from  where  I  was  in  the 
gardens  I  saw  monkeys  climb  on  the  golden  and 
silver  walls,  frightened  by  the  lions  that  went 
roaring  through  the  courts  of  the  palace.  I  ran 
on  and  on,  down  the  great  avenue  of  palms  and 
toward  the  lake  where  the  King's  blue  herons  flew 
or  rested. 

I  ran  on.  But  I  had  gone  aside  from  the  avenue 
of  the  palms,  seeing  a  great  buffalo  that  stood  in  my 
way.  Something  caught  at  my  feet  as  I  ran  on  the 
clear  ground,  and  being  pitched  I  fell  into  a  deep 
pit.     I  lay  there,  and  I  looked  to  the  sky,  and  I 

60 


THE  STORY  OF  EEAN  THE  FISHERMAN'S  SON 

saw  that  the  pit  narrowed  to  the  top,  and  for  that 
reason  was  hard  to  climb  out  of.  It  was  higher 
again  by  my  own  height,  as  I  saw  when  I  stood 
upward  thinking  of  a  way  that  might  get  me 
out. 

But  then  there  came  a  sound  that  made  me  look 
downward,  a  hissing  sound.  And  when  I  looked 
down  I  saw  into  what  place  I  had  fallen  —  into 
the  Pit  of  the  Serpent.  In  the  shadow  of  the  pit 
there  was  a  dreadful  snake.  It  was  still  in  its 
coils,  but  its  head  was  raised,  and  it  was  swaying 
toward  me. 

Then,  O  King  of  the  Western  Island,  I  was  in  a 
danger  greater  than  I  am  in  now.  This  snake  was 
mighty  enough  to  crush  a  man,  and  from  that  pit 
there  was  no  escape  without  help,  and  at  that 
moment  there  was  no  help.  The  snake  raised 
itself  higher,  and  its  eyes  fastened  my  eyes.  Judge, 
then,  of  my  danger,  and  whether  it  was  not  greater 
than  the  danger  I  am  in  now  as  I  sit  here  with  the 
gleam  of  the  slaying  sword  before  my  eyes. 

And  then  I  heard  a  whisper  that  seemed  to  come 
to  me  from  the  sky.     I  drew  my  eyes  from  the 

61 


THE   BOY  APPRENTICED  TO  AN  ENCHANTER 

snake's  eyes  and  I  looked  to  the  top  of  the  pit. 
One  was  bending  from  the  opening  —  a  girl,  and 
she  had  in  her  hands  a  little  drum.  She  began 
to  beat  on  the  drum,  and  the  snake's  head  that 
was  swaying  toward  me  began  to  sway  sideways. 
The  girl  beat  again  on  the  drum,  and  the  snake's 
head  swayed  and  swayed  and  went  down  upon  its 
coils.  At  last  the  dreadful  head  was  at  rest,  and 
the  eyes  of  the  snake  no  longer  fastened  themselves 
upon  my  eyes. 

The  girl  who  stood  above  the  pit  put  down  a 
board  for  me  to  climb  up  by.  I  climbed,  and  I 
stood  outside  the  pit,  and  I  looked  upon  the  girl, 
and  I  saw  the  blue  heron's  feathers  laid  across  her 
breast.  Then  I  sank  down  on  the  ground,  and 
for  a  while  I  knew  no  more  of  the  world's  happen- 
ings. 

VII.   Again  the  Horses  of  King  Manus 

It  was  as  if  the  eyes  of  the  snake  were  still  upon 
him.  Eean  stopped  in  his  story,  and  his  eyes 
were  wide  as  if  they  looked  upon  a  terrible  thing. 
One  of  the  servers  brought  him  a  cup  of  wine  and 

62 


THE  STORY  OF  EEAN  THE  FISHERMAN'S  SON 

placed  it  in  his  hands,  but  although  he  kept  his 
fingers  around  it,  he  did  not  raise  it  to  his  lips. 

Nor  did  he  appear  to  hear  what  was  being  said 
around  the  King's  supper  table  :  "A  great  danger 
the  boy  was  in,  truly."  "The  danger  he  is  in 
now  is  not  as  great  as  the  danger  he  has  told  us 
of."  "We  must  hear  the  end  of  this  story." 
"It  seems  that  he  is  too  fearful  to  tell  us  any 
more."  This  last  speech  came  to  the  ears  of 
King  Manus.  "Be  not  so  fearful,  boy,"  said  the 
King.  "You  have  been  in  a  greater  danger  than 
ever  I  heard  a  man  speak  of,  and  by  my  sword, 
you  are  in  less  danger  now  than  you  were  then. 
Drink  the  wine  that  is  in  it  and  keep  the  cup  you 
have  for  a  remembrance.  I  would  have  you  at 
your  ease,  too,  for  we  will  sit  here  and  listen  to 
the  rest  of  your  story." 

When  the  King  said  this  the  lords  who  were 
sitting  around  the  supper  board  applauded,  and 
then  the  stewards  signed  to  the  attendants  to 
bring  more  lights  in.  Fresh  candles  were  put 
upon  the  board,  and  fresh  torches  were  put  into 
the  sconces,   and  fresh  logs  were  put  upon   the 

63 


THE  BOY  APPRENTICED  TO  AN  ENCHANTER 

hearth.  When  all  this  was  done  the  King  and  his 
lords  turned  their  faces  to  Eean,  for  they  were 
ready  to  listen  to  the  rest  of  the  story.  But  the 
boy  had  not  seated  himself  in  the  story-teller's 
chair :  still  he  was  standing  with  the  wine  cup 
between  his  hands,  and  still  his  eyes  were  widened 
as  if  a  terrible  thing  was  before  him. 

It  was  then,  as  they  were  waiting  for  him  to 
begin,  that  the  neigh  of  a  horse  was  heard  again. 
It  was  a  very  shrill  neigh,  and  every  one  in  the 
supper  hall  was  startled  by  it.  Out  they  rushed, 
King  and  lords,  stewards,  servers,  and  attendants, 
and  they  neither  stopped  nor  stayed  until  they 
came  before  the  King's  great  stable.  Then  they 
could  hardly  believe  what  their  eyes  looked  upon : 
the  iron  door  of  the  stable  was  open  wide ;  the 
watchers  were  there,  but  their  heads  were  bent 
in  sleep  and  their  swords  were  upon  the  ground. 
Through  the  open  door  of  the  stable  came  the 
whinnyings  and  the  plungings  and  the  tramplings 
of  a  horse.  Quickly  they  went  into  the  stable. 
There,  by  the  light  of  the  torches  that  the  at- 
tendants held,  they  saw  the  white  horse  and  the 

64 


THE  STORY  OF  EEAN  THE  FISHERMAN'S  SON 

red  horse  still  in  their  stalls,  but  the  black  horse 
they  saw  rearing  above  a  figure  that  was  prone 
upon  the  ground. 

The  blaze  of  their  torches  made  the  black  horse 
swerve  so  that  his  hoofs  did  not  come  down  upon 
the  figure  that  was  upon  the  stable  floor.  The 
horse  was  taken  hold  of  and  put  back  into  his 
stall.  Then  the  attendants  raised  up  the  one  who 
was  upon  the  ground.  "Another  one  come  to 
steal  my  horses,"  cried  King  Manus.  "Well,  this 
one  shall  pay  the  penalty  that  the  other  has  been 
delivered  from.'* 

They  took  up  the  one  who  was  on  the  floor  of  the 
stable.  They  locked  the  stable  door  again  and 
they  put  a  double  watch  before  it.  They  brought 
the  one  whom  they  had  taken  into  the  supper  hall ; 
a  lad,  younger  even  than  Eean,  this  second  robber 
seemed. 

Eean  was  standing  by  the  story-teller's  seat  as 
they  came  into  the  supper  hall.  Looking  upon 
the  one  they  brought  in  he  cried  out  in  the  voice 
of  the  heart-broken,  "O  Bird-of-Gold,  why  didst 
thou  peril  thyself  by  staying  here.?*     Too  faithful 

65 


THE   BOY  APPRENTICED  TO  AN  ENCHANTER 

to  me  thou  hast  been !"  Hearing  this  speech,  all 
looked  on  the  one  who  was  called  Bird-of-Gold : 
it  was  then  that  they  saw  they  had  taken,  not  a 
youth  as  they  had  supposed,  but  a  young  girl 
whose  dress  was  a  youth's  dress. 

In  the  light  of  the  torches  and  candles  they 
looked  at  her  wonderingly.  She  had  knitted 
brows  and  heavy  eyelids  that  gave  to  her  face 
the  look  of  one  who  ponders  deeply.  And  there 
was  such  fire  behind  the  depths  of  her  eyes  that 
it  seemed  as  if  her  thought  was  always  burning. 
But  her  lips  were  colorless  and  her  cheeks  were 
thin  and  sunken ;  her  hair  and  her  eyes  and  her 
eyebrows  were  dead  black.  And  when  they  went 
to  bind  her  as  they  had  bound  Eean  they  saw  that 
her  hands  were  finely  shaped  and  yet  strong  and 
hard. 

"Who  is  she.'^"  said  King  Manus. 

*'I  have  told  you  of  her,"  said  Eean.  "This 
is  she  who  found  me  in  the  Pit  of  the  Serpent 
and  who  drew  me  away  from  the  venom  of  the 
snake." 

There  was  silence  for  a  while,  and  then  the 


THE  STORY  OF  EEAN  THE   FISHERMAN'S   SON 

King  said,  "The  chance  that  was  given  you  shall 
be  given  her  also.  If  she  can  show  us  that  she 
was  in  a  danger  greater  than  the  danger  she  is  in 
now  her  life  shall  not  be  taken.  If  she  cannot 
show  that  she  shall  be  slain  by  the  sword  on  to- 
morrow's sunrise." 

At  that  some  of  the  trouble  that  was  on  Eean's 
face  seemed  to  leave  it.  He  cried  out,  *'0 
Bird-of-Gold,  tell  the  King  the  story  of  your  ad- 
ventures from  the  beginning.  Bethink  thee,  Bird- 
of-Gold,  of  the  terrible  things  you  have  gone 
through  and  speak  to  the  King  and  the  lords  of 
them.  This  King  is  very  generous,  and  you  may 
win  our  lives  from  him." 

The  girl  who  was  called  Bird-of-Gold  turned 
to  the  King  her  face  that  seemed  to  him  to  be 
like  the  face  of  a  slave  and  a  victorious  warrior. 
Her  hands  were  bound  before  her  and  her  black 
hair  fell  over  her  breast.  Like  one  who  was  ever 
ready  in  deed  and  word,  as  soon  as  King  Manus 
made  a  gesture,  she  began : 


67 


THE  STORY  OF  BIRD-OF-GOLD 


PART  II 

THE  STORY  OF  BIRD-OF-GOLD  WHO  WAS 
THE  BRAMBLE  GATHERER'S  DAUGHTER 

I.   How  THE  Bramble   Gatherer's   Daughter 
Went  toward  Her  Fortune 

I  am  called  Bird-of-Gold  (said  the  girl,  beginning 
her  story),  but  that  name  did  not  belong  to  me 
until  I  was  a  girl  grown.  Before  that  I  had  no 
name.  In  the  city  where  I  was  born  and  where 
I  lived  I  was  known  as  "The  bramble  gatherer's 
child." 

My  father  was  the  poorest  of  all  the  men  of  that 
town.  He  gathered  brambles  and  thorns  in  the 
wilderness  and  brought  them  in  a  bundle  to  the 
hut  where  we  lived.  Then,  while  he  was  gathering 
another  bundle  on  another  day,  I  would  go  through 
the  town  selling  the  brambles  and  thorns  for  stuff 
for  the  people's  fires.  My  mother  I  never  knew. 
I  grew  up  with  my  father,  and  we  two  had  even 

71 


THE  BOY  APPRENTICED  TO  AN  ENCHANTER 

less  than  the  sparrows.  I  had  no  playmate  nor 
no  friend,  and  what  I  got  for  the  thorns  and 
brambles  I  sold  brought  us  but  little  to  eat. 

One  day  as  I  passed  along  the  street  of  the  city 
it  came  into  my  mind  that  I  was  grown  to  be  a 
girl.  The  thought  that  I  should  go  from  the  city 
grew  in  me  from  that  time.  My  father  would  miss 
me,  but  he  would  flourish  the  better  if  there  was 
one,  and  not  two,  to  eat  the  scanty  meal  that  the 
price  of  the  brambles  and  thorns  gained  for  us. 

I  got  for  myself  the  cap  and  jacket  of  a  boy. 
Then  one  morning  when  my  father  had  gone  from 
the  hut  and  had  turned  his  face  to  the  wilderness 
and  his  back  to  the  city,  I  went  out  of  the  door  and 
turned  to  the  wilderness  also.  I  took  a  direction 
that  would  bring  me  far  from  where  my  father  had 
gone.  I  had  dressed  myself  as  a  boy,  and  my 
thought  was  that  I  would  come  upon  a  merchant 
who  would  let  me  do  service  for  him,  and  who, 
perhaps,  would  take  me  on  a  voyage.  And  I 
thought  that  I  might  win  some  fortune  for  myself, 
and  that  then  I  could  return  and  take  my  father 
out  of  toil  and  hardship. 

72 


THE  STORY  OF  BIRD-OF-GOLD 

I  came  to  the  wilderness  and  I  went  through  it. 
When  the  sun  was  halfway  in  the  heavens  I  came 
to  where  there  was  a  road.  There  was  a  pillar 
before  me  and  that  pillar  had  writing  upon  it. 
I  read  what  was  written  there.  The  words  were : 
They  who  take  the  road  to  the  right  will  come  to 
their  fortune  at  last,  and  they  who  take  the  road 
to  the  left  will  he  ever  as  they  have  been.  When  I 
read  that  writing  I  took  the  road  that  was  to  my 
right. 

I  went  along  that  road  thinking  every  minute 
that  I  should  come  upon  something  that  would 
bring  me  to  my  fortune.  The  light  faded  as  I 
went  along,  and  soon  I  had  to  look  about  for  some 
tree  or  cave  that  would  give  me  a  shelter  for  the 
night.  At  last  I  saw  a  hut  and  I  went  toward 
it.  When  I  came  before  the  broken  door  I  knew 
the  place  I  had  been  brought  to.  It  was  my 
father's  hut  —  the  hut  I  had  left  that  morning. 
And  as  I  stood  before  it  I  saw  my  father  coming 
from  the  other  side  with  the  bundle  of  brambles 
and  thorns  upon  his  back.  Then  I  said  to  myself, 
*'How  lying  was  the  writing  that  said  that  they 

73 


THE  BOY  APPRENTICED  TO  AN  ENCHANTER 

who  took  the  road  to  their  right  would  corae  at  last 
to  their  fortune." 

I  went  into  the  hut  with  my  father.  In  the 
darkness  that  was  there  he  did  not  see  that  I  had 
on  the  cap  and  jacket  of  a  boy.  He  laid  the  bundle 
of  brambles  and  thorns  down  on  the  floor  while  I 
went  to  prepare  the  meal  for  both  of  us.  And 
while  my  father  was  lighting  a  fire  I  took  off  the 
cap  and  jacket  of  a  boy  and  I  put  on  my  girl's 
dress. 

My  father,  when  he  had  eaten  his  meal,  said  to 
me,  "To-day  when  I  had  gathered  the  brambles 
and  had  made  them  into  a  bundle  I  lay  with  my 
head  on  the  bundle  and  went  to  sleep.  I  awakened 
feeling  some  warmth  near  where  my  head  lay.  I 
looked  to  see  if  perchance  fire  had  come  upon  the 
brambles  and  thorns,  and,  lo !  what  I  saw  laid  on 
the  bundle  was  the  egg  of  a  bird.  The  egg  was 
still  warm,  and  the  bird  that  laid  it  must  have 
flown  as  I  awakened.'* 

My  father  showed  me  the  egg.  It  was  strangely 
marked  and  was  heavy  for  its  size.  I  looked  at  it, 
and  my  father  said,  "Take  it  to  the  merchant  to- 

74 


THE  STORY  OF  BIRD-OF-GOLD 

morrow,  and  maybe  he  will  give  a  coin  for  it,  for 
surely  it  is  remarkable." 

The  next  day,  when  my  father  had  gone  into 
the  wilderness,  I  went  to  the  shop  of  the  merchant. 
I  showed  him  the  egg  that  had  the  strange  markings 
upon  it,  and  I  asked  him  if  he  would  give  me  some- 
thing for  it.  And  when  the  merchant  had  taken 
the  egg  in  his  hand  he  said,  *'  This  is  something  to 
be  shown  the  King.  It  is  undoubtedly  the  egg 
of  the  Bird  of  Gold." 

I  was  greatly  stirred  when  I  heard  the  merchant 
say  this,  and  I  thought  that  perhaps  my  fortune 
would  come  to  me  through  this  egg.  I  went  back 
to  the  hut,  and  in  the  morning,  before  my  father 
started  off  for  his  bramble  gathering,  two  oflficers 
came  and  they  took  my  father  and  me  to  the  palace 
and  before  the  King.  And  the  King  said,  "It 
is  known  that  of  all  creatures  in  the  world  the 
Bird  of  Gold  is  best  worth  possessing.  For  her 
claws  can  be  made  into  an  amulet  that  will  bring 
wealth  to  the  one  who  wears  it,  and  the  one  who 
eats  her  heart  can  never  be  slain  by  his  enemy. 
I  would  have  the  Bird  of  Gold  whose  egg  you  have 

75 


THE  BOY  APPRENTICED  TO  AN  ENCHANTER 

found.      You    know    where    she    abides.      Catch 
her   and   bring  her   to   me,   and  I  shall  reward 

you.'* 

So  spoke  the  King  of  our  little  country.  My 
father  and  I  went  into  the  wilderness  to  search 
for  the  Bird  of  Gold  around  the  place  where  the 
egg  had  been  laid.  And  in  the  very  place  where 
before  he  had  lain  my  father  put  down  his  bundle 
of  brambles  and  thorns.  Laying  his  head  upon 
the  bundle,  he  went  to  sleep. 

I  watched  beside  the  brambles  and  thorns. 
And  after  a  time  a  bird  came  running  along  the 
ground,  and  went  fluttering  up  on  the  bundle  and 
made  a  nest  for  herself  there.  Small  she  was  and 
all  golden  except  for  the  blue  that  was  under  her 
throat,  and  the  blue  that  was  upon  her  feet.  As 
she  was  making  a  nest  for  herself  I  put  my  hands 
upon  her  and  caught  her.  I  held  her  to  my 
breast  to  keep  her  from  fluttering  away. 

And  I  said  aloud,  *'0  bird,  now  I  shall  be  re- 
warded for  taking  thee.  For  the  King  would  make 
an  amulet  of  thy  feet  that  he  may  have  wealth, 
and  he  would  eat  thy  heart   that   his   enemies 

76 


THE  STORY  OF  BIRD-OF-GOLD 

may  not  be  able  to  slay  him.  Greatly  will  he 
reward  me  for  having  taken  thee,  O  Bird  of 
Gold." 

And  as  I  spoke  to  her  and  held  her  to  my  breast 
the  bird  made  a  cry  that  sounded  as  "Alas,  Alas  !" 
I  looked  upon  her  again  and  my  heart  was  filled 
with  sorrow  for  the  bird  I  had  taken.  Why  should 
her  claws  be  made  into  an  amulet  for  the  King, 
and  why  should  her  heart  be  eaten  by  him? 
I  sat  there  thinking  while  my  father  slept,  holding 
the  bird  very  gently  to  my  breast.  And  when  she 
cried  again  *' Alas,  Alas !  "  I  opened  my  hands  and 
I  let  her  fly  away.  She  fluttered  near  for  a  while 
as  if  to  show  herself  to  me,  and  then  she  rose  up 
and  flew  away. 

My  father  awakened,  and  he  said,  "It  is  near 
dark,  and  the  Bird  of  Gold  will  not  come  now. 
Perhaps  we  will  find  her  on  another  day.  The 
King  should  reward  us  for  our  search,  and  now  we 
will  go  and  tell  him  of  it." 

So  we  rose  up  and  we  went  into  the  city.  And 
when  we  came  before  him,  my  father  spoke  to  the 
King  and  told  him  that  the  Bird  of  Gold  was  not 

77 


THE  BOY  APPRENTICED  TO  AN  ENCHANTER 

to  be  seen  in  the  places  where  we  had  searched. 
Then  the  King  would  have  sent  us  away  without 
doing  any  evil  to  us  only  that  one  who  was  near 
him  cried  out:  *' Behold,  0  King,  and  decree  a 
punishment  for  these  two  deceivers.  One  has 
declared  that  the  Bird  of  Gold  did  not  come  near 
where  they  searched.  But  look  on  the  dress  of  the 
girl :  All  around  her  breast  are  the  feathers  of  the 
Bird  of  Gold." 

Thereupon  I  looked  down  and  I  saw  that  the 
bird's  golden  feathers  were  all  strewn  around  the 
place  where  I  had  held  her  to  me.  I  was  grasped 
by  the  hands  and  brought  before  the  King.  And 
he  cried  out,  "Have  you  the  bird  hidden .''"  I 
said :  "No,  O  King.  I  let  the  bird  fly  out  of  my 
hands."  Then  the  King  spoke  to  one  who  stood 
beside  him,  and  he  commanded  that  I  should  be 
taken  and  put  upon  a  ship  and  thrown  into  the 
depths  of  the  sea. 

I  was  taken  from  my  father  who  wept  and 
cried  after  me,  and  I  was  brought  down  to  the 
river  and  put  upon  a  ship.  The  one  who  was  com- 
manded by  the  King  to  take  me  and  throw  me  into 

78 


THE  STORY  OF  BIRD-OF-GOLD 

the  depths  of  the  sea  was  a  man  with  a  great 
hooked  nose  and  a  purple  beard.  On  his  hand  was 
a  ring  with  a  great  emerald  in  it.  He  was  the  cap- 
tain of  the  King's  ships. 

I  was  put  upon  the  ship,  and  the  next  day  we 
sailed  down  the  river  and  came  out  on  the  sea. 
Now,  although  the  King  had  commanded  that  I 
be  thrown  into  the  depths  of  the  sea,  I  was  not 
then  in  as  great  a  danger  as  I  am  in  now,  O  King 
of  the  Western  Island.  For  the  captain  of  his 
ships  hated  all  the  words  that  the  King  gave  him, 
and  those  whom  the  King  would  slay  he  would 
save,  and  those  whom  the  King  would  save  he 
would  have  slain.  When  we  came  into  the  open 
sea,  so  that  he  might  obey  the  King's  word  and  at 
the  same  time  make  a  mock  of  it,  he  had  me  thrown 
into  the  water,  but  with  a  rope  around  my  waist. 
After  I  had  been  plunged  into  the  water  he  had  me 
drawn  out  of  it,  and  I  was  left  living  on  the  ship. 
And  from  the  captain  who  had  had  me  plunged  into 
the  sea  in  such  ways  and  from  the  sailors  on  the 
ship  I  got  the  name  by  which  I  have  been  known 
ever  since  —  Bird  of  Gold. 

79 


THE  BOY  APPRENTICED  TO  AN  ENCHANTER 

II.   The  Man  Who  Was  High  in  Fortune 

We  landed  in  a  country  (said  Bird-of-Gold,  con- 
tinuing her  story)  that  was  three  days'  voyage  from 
the  river's  mouth.  Then  the  sailors  put  swords 
into  their  belts  and  marched  toward  a  mountain 
that  was  haK  a  day's  journey  from  the  coast. 
They  pitched  black  tents  and  they  built  a  citadel, 
and  they  made  themselves  into  a  band  of  robbers. 
He  who  had  been  the  captain  of  the  King's  ships 
was  the  chief  of  this  band. 

Every  day  they  went  off  to  rob  caravans  and  to 
make  war  upon  the  men  who  guarded  the  caravans. 
And  always  they  came  back,  my  master  and  his 
forty  robbers,  with  no  man  of  their  band  slain 
and  with  no  man  wounded.  Very  rich  and  power- 
ful did  they  grow  with  the  plunder  they  took  from 
the  caravans,  and  my  master,  the  man  with  the 
hooked  nose  and  the  purple  beard,  grew  to  be  a 
King  almost.  Men  far  and  near  sent  him  presents 
and  men  came  to  him  promising  obedience,  and  he 
had  state  such  as  had  the  King  of  my  country.  But 
he  kept  no  men  with  him  except  his  forty  robbers. 

80 


THE  STORY  OF  BIRD-OF-GOLD 

Every  one  said  of  my  master,  the  captain  of 
the  band,  that  nothing  could  come  to  him  except 
good  fortune,  so  great  and  so  prosperous  did  he 
grow.  Men  marveled  that  so  many  good  things 
came  to  him  and  so  many  evil  things  were  staved 
off  from  him.  And  all  his  band  swore  by  his  good 
fortune.  But  one  day  a  wise  King  who  liked 
him  greatly  sent  my  master  a  message  that  said : 
*'I  rejoice  in  your  good  fortune,  friend,  but  am 
also  troubled  by  it.  He  who  is  so  lucky  must  pay 
a  great  price  sooner  or  later  for  his  luck.  Pay 
the  price  now,  before  it  is  exacted  from  you,  and 
remain  great  and  prosperous.  Let  the  price  you 
pay  be  that  possession  that  is  dearest  to  you." 

My  master,  having  received  this  message,  paid 
heed  to  what  was  said  in  it,  for  the  King  who  sent 
it  was  renowned  for  his  wisdom.  He  made  up 
his  mind  to  sacrifice  the  possession  that  was  dear- 
est to  him  so  that  he  might  remain  great  and  pros- 
perous. And  the  possession  that  he  considered 
dearest  was  the  ring  that  he  wore  with  the  great 
emerald  in  it.  He  went  down  to  the  seaboard 
taking  me  with  him,  for  he  would  let  none  of  the 

81 


THE  BOY  APPRENTICED  TO  AN  ENCHANTER 

forty  men  know  what  he  was  about  to  do,  and  he 
took  a  boat  and  he  went,  I  being  with  him,  over 
the  depths  of  the  sea.  Then  he  drew  from  off 
his  finger  the  ring  that  had  the  great  emerald  in 
it,  and  he  let  it  drop  down  into  the  depths  of  the 
sea.  Afterward  he  sent  a  message  back  to  the 
King,  his  friend,  saying  that  he  had  paid  the  price 
before  it  was  exacted  of  him,  and  that  his  prosperity 
now  would  never  fail,  and  that  men  would  ever 
swear  by  his  good  fortune. 

After  that  he  and  his  forty  men  went  forth  and 
won  more  plunder  than  ever  they  had  won  before. 
Also  more  men  came  from  far  and  near,  bringing 
him  presents  and  promising  him  obedience. 

And  now,  being  so  prosperous  and  so  feared,  my 
master  planned  to  attack  a  city  and  make  himself 
the  master  of  the  King's  treasure.  He  told  his 
plan  to  his  forty  men  and  they  rejoiced  one  and 
all,  and  they  talked  to  each  other  as  if  that  treas- 
ure was  already  in  their  hands.  I  prepared  the 
meal  that  was  to  be  given  him  before  he  collected 
his  men  for  the  march. 

The  meal  was  of  fish.     The  fisherman  who  had 

82 


THE   STORY  OF  BIRD-OF-GOLD 

just  come  from  the  sea  laid  his  net  before  me  and 
I  took  out  of  it  an  exceedingly  large  and  beautiful 
fish.  I  divided  the  fish  and  began  to  make  it 
clean.  I  found  within  the  fish  something  it  had 
swallowed.  It  was  a  ring.  And  when  I  cleaned 
the  ring  I  found  that  it  was  of  gold  and  that  in  it 
was  a  most  precious  stone  —  a  stone  of  emerald. 

I  brought  the  fish  to  my  master  cooked.  And 
to  make  him  rejoice  I  brought  at  the  same  time 
the  ring  to  him.  I  told  him  that  for  the  ring  he 
had  dropped  into  the  depths  of  the  sea  another 
ring  had  come  back  to  him,  and  that  this  was  on 
account  of  the  great  good  fortune  that  was  ever 
with  him. 

He  took  the  ring  from  me  and  he  looked  it  all 
over.  He  cried  out  that  this  was  not  another  ring 
but  the  same  ring,  and  that  the  characters  of  his 
name  were  engraved  upon  it.  And  he  said  that  it 
was  by  no  means  on  account  of  his  good  fortune 
that  this  ring  had  come  back  to  him.  Thereupon 
he  rose  up  and  went  outside,  and  gave  command  to 
his  band  that  they  were  to  disarm  themselves  and 
tie   up   their  horses,   and  hold   themselves  back 

83 


THE  BOY  APPRENTICED  TO  AN  ENCHANTER 

from  making  any  attack  that  day.  He  then  went 
into  his  tent  and  sat  at  the  darkest  part  of  it, 
his  purple  beard  touching  the  ground,  and  all  the 
while  lamenting  that  his  dearest  possession  had 
come  back  to  him  out  of  the  depths  of  the  sea. 

The  forty  men  disarmed  themselves  and  tied 
up  their  horses  and  sat  in  little  bands  playing 
games  together.  I  would  have  stayed  about  the 
encampment  making  bread  for  the  band,  only  that 
as  I  came  near  the  tent  where  the  kneading 
board  was  I  heard  a  bird's  cry. 

I  looked,  and  I  saw  on  the  wellhead  near  the 
Bird  of  Gold.  The  bird  fluttered  and  flew  as  if 
she  wanted  me  to  watch  her.  I  followed  where 
she  went  and  I  was  led  far  from  the  encampment. 
At  the  edge  of  the  wilderness  she  went  amongst 
low  bushes,  and  after  that  I  could  not  see  her  any 
more. 

Because  I  had  seen  the  Bird  of  Gold  once  more 
I  went  back  toward  the  encampment  thinking 
about  the  days  when  I  had  lived  in  the  hut  of  my 
father,  the  bramble  gatherer,  and  about  the  day 
when  I  had  left  that  hut,  and  had  gone  across  the 

84 


THE   STORY  OF  BIRD-OF-GOLD 

wilderness,  and  had  seen  the  pillar  on  which  was 
written  that  if  I  followed  the  road  to  the  right  I 
should  come  to  my  fortune,  and  about  how  I  had 
come,  not  to  my  fortune,  but  back  to  the  hut  I 
had  left ;  and  I  went  on,  thinking  of  how  I  had 
first  heard  of  the  Bird  of  Gold,  and  of  how  I 
had  given  her  liberty  when  I  might  have  held  her 
for  the  great  reward  the  King  would  have  given. 
I  went  toward  the  encampment  thinking  these 
thoughts  about  myself,  and  thinking,  too,  of  my 
master  who  had  such  fortune  that  men  swore  by 
the  goodness  of  it. 

I  made  my  way  toward  the  tent  where  the  knead- 
ing board  was.  And  then  I  saw  tents  overturned 
and  lying  upon  the  ground.  I  saw  the  horses  of 
the  band  straying  over  the  plain.  And  when  I 
looked  to  the  citadel  I  saw  it  smoking  with  a  fire 
that  was  burning  it. 

There  was  no  stir  in  all  the  encampment.  I 
knew  then  that  an  army  had  come  and  had  at- 
tacked my  master  and  his  forty  men  in  the  time 
that  I  was  following  the  Bird  of  Gold  or  coming 
back  from  the  place  where  she  had  led  me.     I  went 

85 


THE  BOY  APPRENTICED  TO  AN  ENCHANTER 

amongst  the  tents  and  I  saw  that  the  men  had  been 
killed.  And  I  saw  the  purple  beard  of  my  master, 
cut  off  by  some  insolent  enemy  and  left  lying  upon 
the  ground. 

Then  I  ran  over  the  trampled  grass  and  made 
for  the  wilderness.  And  when  I  came  into  the 
wilderness  I  hid  myself  amongst  the  bushes  that 
the  Bird  of  Gold  had  flown  into.  I  thought  that 
a  great  army  was  pursuing  me,  and  in  truth  I  was 
very  fearful. 

III.    How  BiRD-oF-GoLD  Came  TO  Her  Fortune 

I  hid  at  the  near  side  of  the  wilderness  (said  the 
girl,  Bird-of-Gold),  for  I  was  too  fearful  to  go  back 
to  the  encampment  and  too  fearful  to  go  farther 
on.  I  ate  the  wild  fruits  that  grew  on  the  bushes, 
and  at  night  I  covered  myself  with  dried  leaves  and 
branches  and  slept  in  a  hole.  I  thought  how  he 
had  been  destroyed,  that  man  whose  good  fortune 
had  been  above  every  one  else's  good  fortune,  and 
I  did  not  know  how  such  a  one  as  I  could  keep  alive. 
I  was  fearful  while  I  slept,  and  when  I  awoke 
and  sat  upon  a  heap  of  leaves  in  that  empty  wilder- 

86 


THE  STORY  OF  BIRD-OF-GOLD 

ness  I  was  most  miserable.  I  remembered  the 
writing  on  the  pillar  that  told  me  to  take  the  road 
to  the  right  on  the  day  I  left  my  father's  hut  and 
I  put  a  curse  upon  the  road  I  took.  I  cursed  it 
because  it  had  brought  me,  not  to  my  fortune  as 
the  writing  said  it  would  bring  me,  but  back  to 
the  hut  I  had  left.  And  things  were  even  worse 
with  me  from  that  time  than  they  were  before,  for 
my  return  had  brought  me  to  the  encounter  with 
the  King,  and  to  the  voyage  with  the  captain  of 
the  King's  ships,  and  to  the  dangerous  place  where 
I  was  now. 

But  then  I  began  to  think  that  although  that 
road  had  brought  me  to  my  father's  hut  it  had  not 
brought  me  back  to  a  life  that  was  as  it  had  been 
before.  What  had  happened  after  I  had  come 
back  to  the  hut  had  brought  me  farther  away 
than  that  road  could  have  led  to.  Perhaps  the 
writing  on  the  pillar  was  not  lying,  after  all.  It  had 
said :  They  who  take  the  road  to  the  right  will 
come  at  last  to  their  fortune.  Perhaps  my  fortune 
was  farther  away  than  I  had  thought. 

Then  I  said  to  myself  that  my  journeys  were  not 

87 


THE  BOY  APPRENTICED  TO  AN  ENCHANTER 

yet  ended,  and  that  if  I  went  on  I  should  yet  come 
to  what  the  writing  on  the  pillar  had  promised. 
I  sat  still  for  a  while  with  this  thought  in  my  mind, 
and  then  I  rose  up  and  went  through  the  wilder- 
ness, going  straight  on  toward  a  star  that  was  still 
in  the  sky. 

I  left  the  wilderness  with  its  low  shrubs  at  last, 
and  I  came  out  on  a  wide,  green  plain.  Before 
going  on  that  plain  I  ate  again  of  the  wild  fruit 
that  was  on  the  bushes  and  I  brought  some  of  the 
wild  fruit  with  me.  I  went  on  and  on  over  the 
miles  of  grass.  And  when  it  was  midday  I  saw  a 
whiteness  upon  the  plain  before  me. 

I  went  toward  that  whiteness  and  in  a  while  I 
saw  that  it  was  all  in  movement.  There  were 
white  living  creatures  there.  I  went  on,  and  I 
came  near  to  where  there  was  a  hollow  in  the 
plain,  and  I  saw  in  that  hollow  a  mighty  flock  of 
ducks.  They  were  tame,  for  they  did  not  rise 
up  and  fly  as  I  came  near. 

I  looked  on  them  with  great  astonishment.  I 
had  never  seen  so  many  ducks  together.  I  looked 
them  all  over  and  I  made  a  guess  that  there  were 

88 


THE   STORY  OF  BIRD-OF-GOLD 

a  thousand  ducks  there.  And  I  had  never  seen 
such  beauty  in  ducks  before.  For  these  ducks 
were  of  a  gleaming  whiteness,  and  moreover  they 
had  a  shapeHness  that  I  had  never  seen  in  such 
creatures  before.  I  thought  and  thought,  but 
I  could  not  think  how  they  had  come  into  this 
unpeopled  plain  in  such  a  vast  flock. 

I  sat  down  on  the  grass  and  I  watched  them  feed- 
ing, thinking  surely  that  some  one  would  come  and 
drive  the  flock  to  some  market  or  to  some  great 
farm.  I  watched,  and  the  ducks  ate  and  ate  in  the 
hollow  where  they  stayed.  When  the  darkness 
came  the  thousand  ducks  put  their  heads  each 
under  a  wing  and  settled  down  on  the  ground.  I 
pulled  grass  to  make  a  bed  for  myself,  and  ate  the 
fruit  I  had  brought  with  me,  and  lay  down  in  a  cold 
place  near  the  hollow. 

I  was  awakened  by  the  thousand  ducks  quack- 
ing loudly,  and  I  looked  and  saw  that  they  had 
spread  themselves  over  the  plain  and  were  moving 
in  a  direction.  I  thought  I  should  follow  the  ducks, 
and  I  did,  and  I  was  able  to  chase  away  two  or 
three  foxes  that  would  have  hunted  them. 

89 


THE  BOY  APPRENTICED  TO  AN  ENCHANTER 

They  were  beautiful,  these  thousand  ducks, 
as  they  went  over  the  green  plain.  They  were 
shapely  and  active,  and  they  had  a  wonderful  soft 
whiteness.  The  drakes  were  not  colored  differ- 
ently, but  they  had  crests  and  tails  that  curled. 
When  they  knew  I  was  with  them  they  did  not  go 
straying  here  and  there,  but  kept  themselves  to- 
gether as  a  flock  and  went  marching  in  a  direc- 
tion. I  thought  that  they  might  bring  me  to  my 
fortune.  And  then  I  thought  that  this  great 
flock  of  ducks,  so  strangely  without  an  owner,  was 
my  fortune. 

I  was  faint  and  hungry,  but  I  went  on  rejoicing 
in  the  beauty  of  the  ducks.  I  gave  them  time  to 
feed  and  they  fed.  At  last  I  came  to  the  gate  of  a 
town.  The  watcher  was  astonished  at  the  great- 
ness of  the  flock  and  he  called  to  the  townspeople 
to  come  out  and  fill  their  eyes  with  the  spectacle. 
They  came  and  asked  me,  *' Who  are  you,  O  girl  ?'* 
and  I  made  answer,  "I  am  the  girl  whose  fortune 
is  in  ducks."  The  people  came  on  the  walls  of 
the  town  and  looked  over  them,  while  the  ducks 
spread  themselves  out,  standing  still.     And  more 

90 


THE  STORY  OF  BIRD-OF-GOLD 

and  more  the  people  marveled  at  the  number  and 
the  extraordinary  beauty  of  the  ducks. 

The  people  set  a  place  apart  for  the  ducks  and 
they  gave  me  a  shelter  in  which  I  might  rest  and 
refresh  myself.  After  a  while  I  heard  them  say, 
"The  officers  of  the  great  King  of  Babylon  should 
see  this  girl  and  her  ducks.  There  is  a  marvel 
here  for  the  great  King  to  hear  about."  People 
came  to  see  the  ducks  as  a  spectacle,  and  one 
would  say  to  the  other,  "No  prince  by  any  river 
in  China  has  such  a  wonderful  collection  of 
ducks." 

And  then  I  was  told  that  the  officers  of  the  great 
King  of  Babylon  would  come  to  look  on  my  flock. 
These  officers  had  come  into  the  country  to  get 
for  the  King's  gardens  birds  and  beasts  that  were 
remarkable. 

They  came  and  looked  on  the  flock,  and  marveled 
that,  whether  they  rested  or  were  feeding,  the  thou- 
sand ducks  barkened  to  my  call  and  went  as  I 
bade  them  go.  They  spoke,  admiring  their  shape 
and  whiteness.  And  then  a  dwarf  who  had  a 
crown    of    crimson    feathers    on    his    head    came 

91 


THE  BOY  APPRENTICED  TO  AN  ENCHANTER 

amongst  them  and  the  officers  spoke  to  him.  This 
dwarf  told  me  they  would  take  the  flock  for  the 
King,  and  that  they  would  take  me  also  to  the 
great  city,  where  I  would  have  the  office  of  mind- 
ing the  ducks  in  the  King's  gardens. 

So  I  brought  the  thousand  ducks  down  to  a  great 
barge  that  was  on  the  river,  and  I  went  on  the 
barge,  and  the  officers  of  the  King  with  the  dwarf 
that  had  the  crown  of  crimson  feathers  on  his  head 
went  aboard  of  it,  and  we  sailed  down  the  river, 
and  we  came  into  the  great  city.  For  two  days  the 
King  had  me  show  the  wondrous  flock  in  the  market 
place  as  a  spectacle  for  the  people.  All  Babylon 
came  and  admired  the  number  and  the  comeliness 
of  the  ducks.  Afterward  they  were  brought  to  the 
lake  that  was  in  the  King's  gardens.  As  time  went 
on  many  of  the  flock  were  taken  by  the  purveyors 
and  killed  and  eaten  in  the  palace.  But  still 
they  remained  a  wonder  for  their  number  and 
their  comeliness.  The  King  often  came  down  to 
look  on  the  thousand  ducks,  swimming  on  the 
water,  or  staying  in  their  companies  around  the 

lake. 

92 


THE  STORY  OF  BIRD-OF-GOLD 

IV.      BiRD-OF-GOLD   IN  THE  KiNG's  GaRDENS 

No  place  in  the  whole  world  is  more  beautiful 
than  the  King's  gardens  in  Babylon  (Bird-of-Gold 
said).  My  white  ducks,  when  they  swam  upon 
the  lake,  went  amongst  water  lilies  that  were 
silver-white  or  all  golden.  Beside  the  lake  the 
irises  grew,  depths  and  depths  of  blue  and  gold  and 
cloud-colored  irises.  I  should  never  have  left 
the  side  of  that  lake  if  I  had  not  wanted  to  be 
amongst  the  trees  that  grew  in  the  gardens  above 
—  palm  trees  of  many  kinds,  and  great  cedar 
trees  in  the  dark  branches  of  which  the  doves  built 
their  nests.  Greatly  did  I  admire  the  trees  in  the 
King's  gardens,  for  I  had  come  from  a  country 
where  there  were  no  trees.  All  the  palms  were 
there  —  the  date  palm,  and  the  royal  palm,  and 
the  palm  of  the  desert.  They  stood  nobly  by 
themselves  or  they  made  solemn  avenues  that  led 
to  monuments  of  the  Kings  of  Babylon.  In  the 
grass  there  were  golden  poppies  and  little  roses 
that  just  lifted  themselves  above  the  ground. 
There  were   great  monuments,   too  —  statues  of 

93 


THE  BOY  APPRENTICED  TO  AN  ENCHANTER 

Kings  and  lions  and  chariots,  and  these  reminded 
people  of  terrors  and  magnificences,  and  they  were 
as  a  great  wind  that  blew  through  the  gardens. 

And  there  were  tulips  on  the  ground,  and  there 
were  golden  fruits  amongst  gleaming  leaves,  and  red 
pomegranates  on  the  high  trees,  and  there  were  spice 
trees  that  filled  the  garments  of  those  who  passed 
with  fragrance.  And  all  in  a  garden  to  themselves 
were  the  roses  —  a  thousand  rose  trees,  each  tree 
with  a  thousand  opened  flowers.  I  wept  when  I 
saw  that  garden  of  roses,  and  I  do  not  know  why 
I  wept. 

All  the  birds  that  were  lovely  to  look  at  or  charm- 
ing to  hear  singing  were  in  that  garden.  The  black 
birds  with  golden  wings  from  my  own  country 
were  there,  and  the  birds  of  paradise  from  the 
Land  of  the  Burning  Mountain.  And  it  was  told 
that  the  nightingales  of  Persia  and  Babylon  and 
Arabia  brought  their  young  here  that  they  might 
learn  to  sing  the  more  perfectly.  Also  there  were 
mocking  birds  that  mocked  every  bird's  song  but 
the  song  of  the  nightingale. 

As  for  the  beasts  in  the  King's  gardens,  the  first 

94 


THE  STORY  OF  BIRD-OF-GOLD 

one  I  made  friends  with  was  a  lynx.  He  was  not 
in  a  cage,  but  went  roaming  about,  watching  every- 
thing with  eyes  that  never  winked.  And  after  I 
had  come  to  know  him  and  had  made  friends  with 
him,  the  lynx  brought  me  to  the  cages  and  the  pits 
of  the  other  beasts  and  with  them  I  made  friends. 
Of  all  the  creatures  that  were  there  the  one  I 
was  most  fearful  of  was  the  queen  serpent  that  was 
in  the  Pit  of  the  Serpent.  But  the  serpent  allured 
me,  and  I  used  to  sit  above  the  pit,  the  lynx  be- 
side me,  and  watch  her  as  she  uncoiled  herself 
and  swayed  her  head  about.  And  as  I  watched 
her  I  would  beat  on  a  little  drum  that  I  carried 
with  me.  I  began  to  see  that  as  I  beat  the  drum 
and  made  music  for  her  the  serpent's  head  would 
cease  to  sway  and  she  would  lower  it,  and  then  she 
would  rest  upon  her  coils  as  if  she  were  sleeping. 
So  I  grew  to  have  power  over  the  serpent,  and 
many  times  when  I  saw  her  try  to  draw  down  a  bird 
that  had  come  to  the  edge  of  the  pit,  I  would  beat 
upon  the  drum  until  her  head  sank  down,  when  the 
bird  would  rouse  itself  out  of  the  spell  that  the 
serpent's  eyes  had  for  it,  and  fly  away. 

95 


THE  BOY  APPRENTICED  TO  AN  ENCHANTER 

So  I  stayed  in  the  King's  gardens,  part  of  the 
day  with  the  thousand  ducks  that  were  about  the 
lake,  and  part  of  the  day  with  the  ever-watchful 
lynx  that  went  here  and  went  there. 

One  day  I  came  up  from  the  lake  after  having 
decked  myself  with  the  blue  herons'  feathers  that 
lay  about.  I  saw  two  where  none  but  the  King 
or  the  King's  ancient  dwarf  ever  came.  One  was 
a  man  who  wore  a  straight  garment  that  had 
curious  figures  woven  upon  it,  and  who  carried  in 
his  hand  a  staff  that  was  formed  of  two  serpents 
twining  together.  The  one  who  was  with  him 
was  a  boy,  and  my  heart  went  out  to  him  be- 
cause he  was  young,  and  I  had  seen  no  one  who 
was  young  in  my  days  in  Babylon.  The  two 
walked  in  the  gardens,  and  I  ran  and  hid  from 
them. 

A  day  came  soon  after  when  I  came  up  from  the 
lake  and  did  not  find  the  lynx  who  was  my  friend. 
I  went  searching  for  him,  and  at  last  I  came  upon 
him.  He  had  gone  up  into  one  of  the  great  chariots 
that  were  for  a  monument  to  a  King.  I  saw  him 
watching  across  the  chariot.     I  went  beside  him, 

96 


THE   STORY  OF  BIRD-OF-GOLD 

and  the  lynx  did  not  move,  but  kept  watching, 
watching. 

Before  I  saw  what  was  coming  I  heard  a  great 
trampHng  noise.  I  saw  trees  break  and  fall  down. 
Flocks  of  birds  came  flying  toward  me,  and  I  saw 
the  deer  start  up  and  run.  Then  I  saw  enormous 
shapes  coming  striding  through  the  gardens. 
They  were  as  men,  but  as  men  high  as  towers. 
As  they  came  on,  trees  fell  down  before  them,  and 
beasts  broke  out  of  their  pits  and  cages  and 
crouched  before  them.  The  beasts  were  filled  with 
fear,  and  they  roared  and  screeched  and  trumpeted 
as  if  fearful  things  were  about  to  happen  to  them. 
The  giant  men  passed  where  I  stood  in  the  great 
chariot  and  they  came  to  the  gateway  that  led 
into  the  courts  of  the  King's  palace.  They  put 
their  hands  to  the  stones  above  the  gateway,  and 
the  heavy,  mortared  stones  fell,  leaving  them  a 
space  high  enough  for  them  to  pass  through.  I 
looked  from  the  King's  palace  toward  the  city, 
and  I  saw  the  Way  of  the  Lions  and  it  was  black 
with  people  that  fled  from  the  palace  —  soldiers 
and  servants  and  attendants.     I  saw  the  beasts 

97 


THE  BOY  APPRENTICED  TO  AN  ENCHANTER 

of  the  gardens  bound  or  crash  through  the  broken 
gateway,  entering  the  courts  of  the  palace. 

I  saw  the  giant  men  come  forth  from  the  palace. 
Now  they  held  a  man  by  the  arms  and  dragged 
him  along.  They  crossed  the  gardens  dragging 
the  man,  and  for  a  time  I  watched  the  dust  that 
their  progress  made. 

As  I  watched  I  saw  some  one  come  fleeing  from 
the  palace.  He  ran  on,  coming  straight  to  the 
place  from  where  I  watched.  He  stumbled  as  he 
ran,  and  I  saw  him  fall  into  the  Pit  of  the  Serpent. 
It  had  seemed  to  me  as  I  watched  him  that  this 
was  the  boy  who  had  walked  with  the  strange  man 
in  the  gardens. 

In  my  hands  I  had  the  little  drum  whose  sound 
could  put  a  spell  upon  the  queen  serpent.  I  ran 
toward  the  pit  holding  the  drum.  And  when  I 
bent  over  I  saw  that  the  head  of  the  serpent  was 
very  near  to  the  boy.  I  beat  upon  the  drum,  and 
the  serpent  heard,  and  her  head  ceased  to  sway 
about.  Then  her  head  went  down,  and  she  re- 
mained  in  her  coils  upon  the  ground  of  the  pit. 

I  drew  the  boy  up,  and  I  led  him  to  the  lake 

98 


THE  STORY  OF  BIRD-OF-GOLD 

and  I  bathed  his  face  and  his  hands.  The  day 
had  almost  passed  before  he  was  able  to  speak  to 
me.  Then  he  told  me  who  he  was,  and  what  the 
events  were  that  had  happened  in  the  King's 
palace.  And  that  boy  is  the  one  who  is  before  you 
now,  O  King  of  the  Western  Island,  Eean,  the 
fisherman's  son,  who  was  apprenticed  to  the 
Enchanter. 

V.   How  BiRD-OF-GoLD  Went  to  the  Top  of 
THE  Tower 

Long  did  it  take  Eean  to  tell  me  the  whole  of  the 
story,  and  when  he  had  told  and  I  had  gathered 
and  put  together  all  of  it,  I  said  to  him,  "  Not  yet 
has  the  tower  fallen,  and  ere  it  comes  down 
one  might  go  to  the  top  and  take  the  Magic  Mirror 
of  the  Babylonians  and  put  it  in  the  hands  of  the 
King." 

"The  King  may  be  dead,"  Eean  said,  "or  else 
he  may  be  in  such  a  state  that  he  cannot  see  or 
hear  any  more." 

We  were  then  sitting  under  the  greatest  of  the 
cedar   trees,    and   he    was    eating   pomegranates 

99 


THE  BOY  APPRENTICED  TO  AN  ENCHANTER 

from  my  lap.  I  looked  from  out  the  shade  of 
the  cedar  tree,  and  I  saw  the  King  of  Babylon 
walking  in  his  gardens. 

The  King  was  fearful;  he  looked  to  the  right 
and  to  the  left  as  he  went  on.  When  he  saw  a 
little  deer  that  was  standing  still  he  was  startled, 
and  he  turned  back.  As  he  came  nigh  the  cedar 
tree  he  saw  me  standing  there  before  him.  I 
prostrated  myself  and  I  said,  "O  King,  fear  not  for 
Babylon.  The  tower  has  not  yet  fallen,  and  the 
Magic  Mirror  will  yet  be  placed  in  your  hands." 
But  the  King  only  said,  "  Go  to  the  tower  and  bring 
back  to  me  the  black  cock  that  I  tied  to  a  board 
but  did  not  sacrifice."  Thereupon  the  King  went 
within  the  palace. 

I  called  upon  Eean  to  come,  and  we  went  down 
the  Way  of  the  Lions,  and  through  the  Gate  of 
Brass,  and  out  into  the  city.  It  was  the  Hour  of 
the  Market,  but  there  were  no  people  in  the  market 
place.  We  went  on,  Eean  and  I,  and  we  came 
before  the  tower.  There  we  saw  a  throng  such 
as  would  have  filled  many  markets,  and  they 
were  standing  round  and  gazing  on  the  tower. 

100 


THE  STORY  OF  BIRD-OF-GOLD 

I  had  never  looked  before  on  the  Tower  of  Baby- 
lon. It  was  built  tower  upon  tower  to  the  height 
of  four  towers,  and  its  color  was  red.  Around  the 
whole  height  of  it  went  a  stairway  showing 
steps  on  this  side  and  that  as  it  went  winding 
around.  On  the  top  of  the  topmost  tower  I  saw 
a  gleam,  and  I  knew  it  was  the  Magic  Mirror  of 
the  Babylonians. 

That  gleam  dazzled  me  and  put  into  my  mind 
the  thought  of  going  to  the  top  of  the  tower.  I, 
out  of  all  that  throng,  would  go  and  bring  down  the 
Magic  Mirror !  I  went  amongst  them  and  they 
let  me  pass,  for  I  had  on  me  now  the  dress  of  one 
who  belonged  to  the  palace.  I  stood  before  the 
throng  and  I  saw  where  a  great  space  of  rock  was 
worn  smooth  —  it  was  the  rock  against  which 
Harut  and  Marut  had  lain. 

I  came  to  the  first  steps  of  the  tower,  and  I 
climbed  three  of  them.  I  heard  the  murmur  of 
those  who  spoke  of  me,  and  I  stood  still.  Then 
up  the  first  round  of  the  steps  I  went,  keeping  my 
mind  from  the  thought  of  the  great  height  that 
was  above  me.     I  came  at  last  to  where  the  second 

101 


THE  BOY  APPRENTICED  TO  AN  ENCHANTER 

tower  grew  from  the  top  of  the  first,  and  I  stood 
and  looked  down,  and  I  saw  that  the  men  below  had 
already  become  little.  It  was  then  that  I  felt 
terror  of  the  height  that  was  above  me. 

I  began  to  climb  the  steps  of  the  second  tower, 
fearful  to  look  down  and  fearful  to  think  of  the 
number  of  steps  that  were  before  me.  I  went  on 
and  up,  all  in  a  terrible  silence,  and  feeling  that 
at  the  step  above  me  something  unbelievable  would 
happen. 

After  a  great  length  of  time  I  came  out  on  the 
space  that  was  the  top  of  the  second  tower. 
On  that  breadth  I  rested.  As  I  waited  there  the 
coldness  of  death  seemed  to  come  over  me. 

But  the  coldness  passed,  and  I  felt  the  air  again. 
I  found  the  steps  that  went  up  and  around  the 
third  of  the  towers.  As  I  went  on  I  felt  that  those 
steps  leaned  down  on  me  and  crushed  me,  and  that 
with  my  feet  alone  I  never  could  surmount  them. 
Then  I  went  down  on  my  hands  and  knees  and  I 
climbed  and  climbed  until  my  hands  were  bruised 
and  the  parts  behind  my  knees  ached.  I  thought 
that  suddenly  the  steps  would  cease  to  be,  and 

102 


THE  STORY  OF  BIRD-OF-GOLD 

that  I  should  find  no  place  for  my  hands,  and  that 
thereupon  I  would  fall  down  all  the  height  I  had 
climbed  up.  But  step  came  after  step,  and  at  last 
I  came  out  on  that  space  that  was  the  top  of  the 
third  tower. 

Above  me  was  the  fourth  tower.  I  stood  hold- 
ing myself  against  it,  and  I  looked  down  all  the 
distance  I  had  climbed.  I  saw  the  great  river 
shining  whitely:  like  pebbles  in  the  bed  of  a  river 
were  the  throngs  below.  But  now  my  fear  went 
from  me.  The  silence  was  all  around  me,  but  I 
was  exultant  because  of  the  silence  through  which 
I  climbed.  The  height  troubled  me  no  more, 
rather  it  made  me  exultant,  making  me  feel  as  the 
eagle  feels.  I  came  out  on  the  top  of  the  fourth 
tower,  and  there  was  nothing  above  me  except  the 
silent  sky. 

And  there  was  the  Magic  Mirror  of  the  Baby- 
lonians. It  rested  against  the  great  spear  that 
was  Nimrod's,  and  it  was  turned  toward  the  city 
and  toward  the  King's  palace. 

I  looked  into  the  Magic  Mirror.  As  I  looked 
into  it  I  saw  a  writing  come  upon  it.     I  read  the 

103 


THE  BOY  APPRENTICED  TO  AN  ENCHANTER 

writing,  and  it  said :  Bring  the  Magic  Mirror  of  the 
Babylonians  to  the  King  of  Babylon,  but  burthen 
yourself  not  with  the  Spear  of  Nimrod. 

And  that  writing  faded,  and  another  writing 
appeared  on  the  mirror.  And  the  writing  read : 
Zabulun  the  Enchanter  has  been  brought  by  Harut 
and  Marut  into  the  cave  that  is  below  the  sea.  For 
forty  days  they  will  watch  over  him,  but  then  they 
will  fall  into  a  slumber.  Zabulun  will  come  forth 
from  the  cave  that  is  beneath  the  sea,  and  in  anger 
he  will  pursue  him  who  revealed  his  plan  for  the 
taking  of  the  Magic  Mirror.  Take  one  of  the  rings 
that  are  around  the  mirror.  It  will  reveal  when 
Zabulun  comes  from  the  cave,  and  it  will  show  how 
near  he  comes  in  his  pursuit  of  Eean,  the  boy  who 
was  apprenticed  to  him. 

That  writing  faded,  and  I  saw  the  rings  that 
were  around  the  mirror.  I  loosened  one  and  I 
took  it  off  the  mirror  and  I  put  it  around  the 
wrist  of  my  hand.  The  color  of  the  ring  changed 
to  the  green  of  the  sea. 

I  took  the  Magic  Mirror  in  my  hands  and  I  went 
down  the  stairway.     Down  I  went,  from  the  fourth 

104 


THE   STORY  OF  BIRD-OF-GOLD 

to  the  third,  and  from  the  third  to  the  second  of 
the  towers.  As  I  went  down  the  stairway  around 
the  first  of  the  towers  I  heard  the  murmurs  of  the 
throng.  High  above  my  head  I  raised  the  Magic 
Mirror,  and  I  went  toward  them  holding  it  so. 

And  as  I  went  amongst  the  throng  I  heard  a 
voice  cry  out,  "The  tower  trembles,  the  tower 
rocks."  It  was  the  voice  of  Eean.  As  the  cry 
arose  the  throngs  drew  back  from  before  the  tower. 
They  ran,  and  I  ran  carrying  the  mirror,  and  Eean 
ran  beside  me.  And  when  we  came  to  the  market 
place  we  two  were  alone. 

We  stood  in  the  empty  market  place  and  we 
looked  toward  the  Tower  of  Babylon.  In  its 
great  height  it  stood  there,  strong  and  wonderful. 
I  heard  the  shouting  of  people  around  it.  Then  I 
saw  the  great  tower  swing  like  a  child's  swing. 
Dust  rose  up,  cloud  after  cloud,  and  cloud  over 
cloud.  The  cries  of  people  came  from  out  the 
clouds. 

We  stood  there  until  we  saw  the  sun  shine 
through  a  cloud  of  dust.  Then  we  knew  that  the 
Tower  of  Babylon  was  indeed  fallen.     Never  again 

105 


THE  BOY  APPRENTICED  TO  AN  ENCHANTER 

did  we  go  near  the  place,  but  from  travelers  I 
have  heard  that  where  the  tower  stood  there  is 
emptiness,  and  that  great  blocks  of  stone  are 
scattered  far  and  wide. 

VI.    How  Eean  and  Bird-of-Gold  Went  from 

Babylon 

We  went  into  the  King's  gardens,  carrying  with 
us  the  Magic  Mirror  of  the  Babylonians.  We 
saw  the  great  cedar  tree,  and  we  went  and  sat 
under  its  branches  and  spoke  of  what  we  should 
do.  The  Magic  Mirror  would  have  to  be  given 
to  the  King,  but  for  long  Eean  was  fearful  of  going 
into  the  palace. 

At  last  we  went  to  the  doors.  They  were  un- 
guarded, and  we  went  within  the  palace.  We 
came  to  the  chamber  where  the  King  was  wont  to 
sit  upon  his  throne,  and  we  saw  the  King  there, 
and  around  him  there  were  bearded  men  with 
fierce  eyes ;  by  their  fashion  of  carrying  swords 
we  knew  them  to  be  the  leaders  of  the  King's 
armies.  These  fierce-eyed  men  stood  with  their 
feet  upon  the  steps  of  the  throne,  speaking  in  anger 

106 


THE  STORY  OF  BIRD-OF-GOLD 

to  the  King.  They  did  not  see  us  as  we  came  into 
the  chamber.  But  in  a  while  one  caught  sight 
of  us,  and  he  uttered  a  fierce  word.  I  went  to 
them,  holding  the  Magic  Mirror  raised  in  my  hands. 
The  King  raised  his  head,  and  he  saw  the  mirror, 
and  he  cried  out  to  us. 

I  went  and  left  the  Magic  Mirror  on  the  throne, 
beside  the  King.  I  lifted  my  voice  and  I  told  him 
how  I  had  taken  the  mirror  from  the  top  of  the 
tower,  and  that  now  the  tower  was  overthrown,  but 
the  mirror  was  saved  for  the  Babylonians.  Then 
the  King  said  to  the  fierce-eyed  men,  "This  is  the 
Magic  Mirror  of  the  Babylonians,  and  I  say  to  you 
that  Babylon  is  yet  in  safety."  Again  he  said 
to  them,  "Speak  now  and  say  what  is  to  be  done 
about  this  girl  who  brought  the  mirror  down  from 
the  tower." 

One  of  the  fierce-eyed  men  said,  "Who  is  the 
boy  who  is  with  her?" 

The  King  looked  on  Eean  and  knew  who  he  was. 
He  said,  "This  is  the  boy  who  was  with  the  En- 
chanter on  whom  be  evil." 

The  man  said,  "Banish  the  girl  and  the  boy  also, 

107 


THE  BOY  APPRENTICED  TO  AN  ENCHANTER 

but  do  no  evil  to  them  inasmuch  as  they  have 
brought  to  us  the  Magic  Mirror  of  the  Babylo- 
nians." 

The  King  said,  "Take  them  from  the  city,  but 
let  some  treasure  be  given  to  them  because  they 
have  brought  to  me  the  Magic  Mirror  of  the 
Babylonians." 

One  of  the  fierce-eyed  men  took  us,  and  he 
brought  us  into  a  chamber  in  which  there  were 
many  open  jars.  In  some  of  the  jars  there  were 
gold,  and  in  others  there  were  silver  coins.  The 
fierce-eyed  man  who  was  with  us  spoke  to  me,  and 
he  said  I  might  take  from  the  jar  with  the  gold 
coins.  I  took  many  of  them,  and  I  tied  them  in 
different  parts  of  my  dress.  Then  he  bade  us 
follow  him,  and  he  led  us  out  of  the  palace  and 
to  a  place  where  a  chariot  with  two  horses  was 
standing. 

He  put  Eean  and  me  into  the  chariot,  and  he 
bade  the  charioteer  drive  with  us  out  of  the  city. 
The  charioteer,  a  silent  man,  stood  up  in  his 
chariot,  and  lashed  the  horses.  We  drove  through 
one  street,  and  then  another  and  another  street, 

108 


THE  STORY  OF  BIRD-OF-GOLD 

and  all  the  streets  were  empty.  The  charioteer 
called  to  the  guards  of  a  gateway,  and  the  gate 
was  opened,  and  we  passed  out  of  the  city.  We 
drove  on  until  we  came  to  where  there  was  a  great 
river.  Then  the  charioteer  halted,  and  he  called 
across  the  river,  and  a  man  with  a  ferry  came  from 
the  other  side.  He  was  a  very  ancient  man, 
and  he  had  a  beard  of  great  length.  The  charioteer 
said  to  him,  "Old  Man  of  the  River,  take  these 
two  across  and  away  from  us !" 

We  went  into  the  ferry,  and  the  ferryman  took 
his  pole  and  pushed  across  to  the  other  side  of  the 
river.  The  man  in  the  chariot  turned  his  horses 
and  drove  back  to  Babylon. 

When  the  ferryman  had  left  us  on  the  other  side 
of  the  river,  Eean  said  to  me,  "Where  now  shall 
we  go?"  I  made  answer  and  said,  "We  shall  go 
to  my  country,  and  to  the  place  where  my  father 
is.  And  it  may  be  that  Zabulun  when  he  comes 
from  the  cave  that  is  under  the  sea  will  not  be  able 
to  find  you  there." 


109 


THE  BOY  APPRENTICED  TO  AN  ENCHANTER 

VII.    How  Eean  and  Bird-of-Gold  Were  Pur- 
sued BY  Zabulun  the  Enchanter  and  how 
They  Went  to  the  Cave  of  Chiron  the 
Centaur 

O  King  of  the  Western  Island,  our  wanderings 
began  on  the  day  when  the  ferryman  left  us  on 
the  farther  side  of  the  river.  We  went  to  the 
country  where  my  father  dwelt.  We  found  the 
old  man  still  gathering  brambles  and  thorns  for 
his  livelihood,  and  out  of  the  treasure  that  had 
been  given  me  I  gave  him  riches,  and  he  had  not 
to  go  thorn-and-b ramble  gathering  any  more. 

We  had  only  been  a  little  time  in  the  hut  that 
my  father  built  when  a  new  color  came  upon  the 
ring  I  had  taken  off  the  Magic  Mirror.  Its  color 
had  been  sea  green,  but  now  a  red  line  came  across 
it.  By  that  we  knew  that  Zabulun  the  Enchanter 
had  left  the  cave  that  was  under  the  sea.  And 
the  red  line  began  to  grow  over  the  sea  green  of 
the  ring,  and  we  knew  by  this  sign  that  he  had 
begun  to  follow  on  our  traces.  Then  said  Eean 
to  me,  *'I  will  go  from  this  place  and  seek  a  hiding, 

110 


THE  STORY  OF  BIRD-OF-GOLD 

and  it  may  be  that  I  shall  baffle  Zabulun  who 
follows  me."  I  said  to  Eean,  "I  shall  go  with  you 
where  you  go."  *'Nay,"  said  Eean,  *'it  is  not  on 
your  account  that  Zabulun  pursues  us.  He  has 
no  rage  nor  hatred  against  you,  O  Bird-of-Gold, 
and  if  I  should  go  from  this  place  by  myself  you 
would  not  be  troubled  by  him." 

Then  I  said  to  him,  *'0  Eean,  I  had  no  playmate 
nor  companion  until  I  met  you  in  the  King's 
gardens.  Now  I  could  not  bear  to  see  you  go 
from  me,  and  where  you  go  I  shall  go  too." 

Afterward  I  asked  him  if  there  were  in  the  world 
any  Enchanters  who  were  as  powerful  as  Zabulun. 
He  told  me  of  Chiron  the  Centaur,  and  of  Hermes 
Trismegistus,  the  wise  Egyptian,  and  of  Merlin 
whose  home  is  on  an  island  that  is  west  of  your 
Western  Island.  I  thought  that  only  from  one 
of  these  Enchanters  might  we  get  aid  against 
Zabulun. 

The  red  grew  over  the  sea  green  of  the  ring,  and 
we  knew  that  the  farther  the  red  grew  the  nearer 
did  Zabulun  approach  us.  I  wondered  how  we 
might  get  to  one  of  the  great  Enchanters.     Hermes 

111 


THE  BOY  APPRENTICED  TO  AN  ENCHANTER 

Trismegistus,  being  in  Egypt,  was  far,  and  Merlin, 
on  the  island  beyond  the  Western  Island,  was 
farther  still.  I  thought  of  Chiron  the  Centaur, 
and  it  seemed  to  me  that  him  we  might  be  able  to 
find. 

Now  my  father  had  lived  a  long  time  in  the 
world,  and  he  had  heard  many  things,  and  he  had 
thought  over  the  things  he  had  heard  in  the  years 
when  he  had  gathered  brambles  and  thorns  in  the 
wilderness.  I  went  to  my  father  for  word  of 
Chiron  the  Centaur. 

"Chiron  the  Centaur  dwells  all  alone  in  a  cave 
that  is  in  the  side  of  a  mountain.  The  mountain 
is  covered  all  over  with  a  deep  and  an  ancient 
forest,"  my  father  told  me.  And  again  he  said, 
*'Once  I  knew  the  direction  in  which  that  mountain 
is,  and  to-morrow  I  shall  go  into  the  wilderness, 
and  as  I  walk  about  it  may  be  that  the  memory  of 
it  will  come  back  to  me." 

He  came  back  from  the  wilderness  in  the  evening 
and  he  said,  *'Away  toward  where  the  morning 
star  shines  there  is  a  great  waste.  If  one  skirts  this 
waste  one  comes  to  a  river  the  waters  of  which 

112 


THE  STORY  OF  BIRD-OF-GOLD 

are  as  cold  as  snow.  The  river  flows  down  from 
the  mountain  on  the  side  of  which  is  the  cave  of 
Chiron  the  Centaur.  All  this  I  heard  in  the  days 
of  my  youth." 

Over  more  and  more  of  the  sea  green  of  the  ring 
the  red  had  grown.  By  this  sign  we  knew  that 
Zabulun  was  coming  close  to  us.  I  spoke  to 
Eean  and  I  said  that  we  both  should  make  ready 
to  go  to  the  cave  of  Chiron  the  Centaur.  Then 
when  the  morning  star  shone  very  brightly  we 
took  leave  of  my  father  and  we  went  toward  where 
it  shone. 

We  came  to  the  great  waste,  and  we  skirted  it 
as  we  had  been  told.  On  we  went,  and  we  came 
to  the  river,  the  waters  of  which  were  cold  as  snow. 
We  turned  our  faces  toward  the  place  from  which 
the  river  flowed  until  we  saw  a  mountain  that  was 
all  covered  with  forest. 

Deep  and  ancient  and  silent  was  that  upward- 
growing  forest.  So  frightened  of  its  silence  were 
we  that  we  never  let  go  of  each  other's  hands. 
For  days  we  went  seeking  the  cave,  and  at  last 
we   heard   cries  —  they    might   have    been   from 

113 


THE  BOY  APPRENTICED  TO  AN  ENCHANTER 

birds,  they  might  have  been  from  the  winds  — 
that  said,  "Who  comes  to  trouble  the  rest  of 
Chiron  the  ancient  Centaur?" 

We  went  toward  where  the  cries  came  from  and 
we  saw  the  mouth  of  the  cave.  We  mounted  the 
track  that  led  to  it,  and  in  fear  we  went  within. 

And  there  was  Chiron  the  ancient  Centaur. 
His  head  and  his  breast,  his  shoulders  and  his 
arms  were  a  man's,  and  his  body  and  his  feet  and 
his  tail  were  a  horse's.  His  great  beard  was  white, 
and  his  horse's  body  was  shrunken,  but  his  eyes 
were  like  pools  in  which  there  are  living  fires.  The 
power  of  all  the  kings  in  the  world  was  in  his  eyes. 

Chiron  lay  beside  a  fire  in  which  fragrant  woods 
burned.  He  turned  his  eyes  upon  it,  and  we  heard 
cries  as  if  the  winds  in  the  cave  made  them,  *'Who 
comes  to  trouble  the  rest  of  Chiron  the  ancient 
Centaur.?" 

I  went  down  on  my  knees  and  I  prayed  him, 
"O  Chiron,  wisest  of  all  who  deal  in  enchant- 
ments," I  said,  "there  is  one  named  Zabulun,  an 
evil  Enchanter,  who  pursues  us.  We  have  come 
to  beg  you  to  tell  us  how  we  may  escape  him." 

114 


THE   STORY  OF  BIRD-OF-GOLD 

"Not  to  me  should  you  have  come,"  the  voice 
of  Chiron  boomed  out.  "What  have  I  to  do  with 
men  who  are  as  far  from  wisdom  as  Zabulun? 
Only  one  who  is  like  him  may  strive  with  him.  Go 
to  another,  go  to  another." 

"To  whom  shall  we  go,  O  Centaur?"  I  prayed. 

"Hermes  Trismegistus  in  Egypt  is  nearer  to 
Zabulun  than  I  am.  Go  to  him  and  he  may  tell  you 
how  to  baffle  Zabulun.  Tell  him  that  you  have 
seen  the  Phoenix  in  the  cave  of  Chiron  the  Centaur." 

As  he  said  this  there  flew  into  the  cave  the  great 
bird  that  is  called  the  Phoenix.  I  may  not  de- 
scribe her  to  you,  O  King.  She  flew  to  the  fire 
of  fragrant-smelling  woods  and  she  held  herself 
above  it.  She  fanned  the  flame  with  her  wings, 
and  the  fire  rose  up  and  caught  her  breast.  Then 
the  bird  sank  down  on  the  fire,  and  we  saw  her 
burn  under  the  eyes  of  Chiron  the  Centaur.  The 
flame  died  out,  and  what  we  saw  of  the  bird  that 
burned,  and  the  wood  that  made  the  fire,  was  a 
heap  of  ashes. 

Then  out  of  that  heap  of  ashes  came  a  bird.  It 
was  smaller  than  the  bird  that  burned,  but  more 

115 


THE  BOY  APPRENTICED  TO  AN  ENCHANTER 

radiant.  As  the  bird  stayed  with  the  ashes  beneath 
her  feet  she  grew  by  some  great  thing  that  was 
within  her,  and  then  she  rose  over  the  ashes  and 
fanned  them  with  her  wings.  Again  I  looked  upon 
the  Phoenix. 

"Go  to  Hermes  Trismegistus  in  Egypt,  and  tell 
him  that  you  saw  the  long-lived  Phoenix  burn 
herself  in  the  cave  of  Chiron  the  Centaur,  and 
come  again  out  of  the  burning.  And  when  you 
tell  this  to  Hermes  in  Egypt  he  will  tell  you  what 
you  may  do  to  make  yourself  free  of  Zabulun." 

The  Phoenix  flew  from  the  cave.  Then  Chiron 
turned  his  eyes  upon  us  and  he  spoke  to  us  of  the 
way  we  should  go  to  find  Hermes  Trismegistus 
in  Egypt.  When  he  had  told  us  all  we  went  back- 
ward out  of  his  cave,  and  then  turned  and  went 
through  the  depths  of  the  silent  forest,  taking  the 
way  the  Centaur  bade  us  take. 

VIII.     How  Eean  and  Bird-of-Gold  Came  to 
Hermes  Trismegistus  in  Egypt 

We  found  a  ship,  and  I  paid  for  the  voyage  out 
of  the  riches  I  had,  and  we  came  to  Egypt.     The 

116 


THE  STORY  OF  BIRD-OF-GOLD 

ring  upon  my  hand  showed  that  we  were  now  far 
away  from  the  one  who  pursued  us,  from  Zabulun 
the  Enchanter. 

But  we  two  lost  our  way  in  Egypt,  and  we  wan- 
dered about,  reaching  nowhere.  Then  Zabulun 
gained  upon  us  again,  as  the  ring  showed.  We 
hid  in  a  village  by  the  river,  and  we  stayed  there 
until  the  season  when  the  cranes  fly  overhead  on 
their  way  to  Ethiopia. 

Then  we  went  from  that  village,  and  we  came 
again  upon  the  way  that  had  been  lost.  We  fol- 
lowed that  way  and  we  came  to  the  great  pyramid 
in  which  Hermes  Trismegistus  had  his  cell.  Down 
into  the  deepest  chamber  we  went,  and  we  came 
before  Hermes  the  Egyptian. 

He  sat  before  a  table  that  was  of  diamond  and 
that  had  wonderful  figures  upon  it.  He  was  youth- 
ful, and  light  seemed  to  come  from  his  forehead. 
As  wonderful  as  the  eyes  of  Chiron  was  the  brow 
of  Hermes  Trismegistus. 

We  knelt  at  the  threshold  of  his  cell,  and  I  said, 
"  O  thrice-great  Hermes !  We  have  been  in  the 
cave  of  Chiron  the  Centaur,  and  we  have  seen  the 

117 


THE  BOY  APPRENTICED  TO  AN  ENCHANTER 

long-lived  Phoenix  burn  herself  to  ashes,  and  come 
out  of  the  ashes  more  radiant  than  before.  Chiron 
was  kind  to  us,  and  he  sent  us  to  you,  O  thrice- 
great  Hermes.  We  are  pursued  by  an  Enchanter 
whose  name  is  Zabulun,  and  we  have  come  to  you 
to  pray  you  to  tell  us  how  we  may  make  ourselves 
free  from  him." 

Hermes  Trismegistus  said,  "I  know  of  Zabulun, 
the  wrong-doing  Enchanter.  But  what  have  I 
to  do  with  one  who  is  so  removed  from  wisdom  ?'* 

I  prayed  him  again,  saying,  "Save  us  from  this 
wrong-doing  Enchanter  who  would  destroy  us. 
He  has  come  near  us  often,  and  he  will  assuredly 
overtake  us  if  you  do  not  give  us  help,  O  thrice- 
great  Hermes." 

Then  Hermes  said,  "Near  the  Western  Island 
there  dwells  an  Enchanter  whose  name  is  Merlin. 
Not  one  of  the  great  Enchanters  is  he,  nor  like  to 
Chiron  or  myself,  for  he  chooses  to  love  rather 
than  to  be  wise.  He  is  nearer  to  Zabulun  than 
we  are,  but  yet  he  is  not  a  wrong-doing  Enchanter. 
Go  to  Merlin  and  say  to  him  that  you  have  been 
within  the  cell  of  Hermes  Trismegistus,  and  that 

118 


THE   STORY  OF  BIRD-OF-GOLD 

you  have  heard  from  him  to  answer  to  the  riddle 
that  the  Sphinx  asks,  and  MerHn  will  show  you 
how  you  both  may  be  saved  from  Zabulun,  the 
wrong-doing  Enchanter. 

"But  to  come  to  Merlin's  island,  which  is  west 
of  the  Western  Island,  you  will  have  first  to  go 
amongst  the  Atlantes,  who  live  by  the  Western 
Ocean.  They  eat  no  living  thing  and  they  never 
have  dreams.  When  you  come  to  them,  seek  out 
the  wisest  amongst  them,  and  ask  him  to  tell  you 
of  Merlin,  and  of  how  you  may  come  to  him. 

*'To  come  to  the  Atlantes  you  will  have  to  pass 
by  the  Sphinx  in  the  desert.  Few  ever  pass  her, 
for  she  has  a  riddle  that  she  asks  of  every  one. 
And  the  one  who  cannot  answer  her  riddle  is  torn 
to  pieces  by  the  Sphinx.  But  I  shall  tell  you  the 
answer  to  give  to  the  riddle  that  the  Sphinx 
asks." 

Then  Hermes,  thrice-great  Hermes,  told  us  the 
Sphinx's  riddle  and  the  answer  that  we  should 
make  to  it.  He  told  us  the  way  we  should  go  to 
pass  by  the  Sphinx  and  come  to  the  people  that 
are  called  the  Atlantes.     We  left  the  cell  of  Hermes, 

119 


THE  BOY  APPRENTICED  TO  AN  ENCHANTER 

and  passed  out  of  the  pyramid,  and  went  on  our 
way. 

We  came  to  where  the  great  Sphinx  stretches 
herself  out  in  the  sand,  and  by  the  light  of  a  great 
moon  we  saw  her  lion's  paws  and  her  woman's 
face.  We  heard  the  purring  sound  that  comes 
through  the  lips  of  the  Sphinx,  and  we  halted 
between  her  paws. 

*'What  is  Man.f^"  said  the  Sphinx,  asking  her 
riddle. 

The  paws  that  stretched  alongside  of  us  were 
quiet,  and  the  voice  of  the  Sphinx  was  very  quiet. 
We  saw  her  face  far  above  us,  and  it  was  calm, 
though  there  was  much  scorn  and  fierceness  in  it. 

"What  is  Man.?"  said  the  Sphinx. 

Then  I  replied  as  Hermes  Trismegistus  had 
taught  me  to  reply,  "Man  is  he  whose  Mother  is 
the  Earth  and  whose  Father  is  the  Stars." 

"Go,"  said  the  Sphinx. 

Then  we  clambered  across  the  great  paws  of  the 
Sphinx,  and  we  went  on  our  way.  Along  the 
border  of  the  desert  we  went,  and  when  the  great 
moon  had  changed  herself  to  a  little  moon  that 

120 


THE  STORY  OF  BIRD-OF-GOLD 

was  hardly  to  be  seen  in  the  sky  we  came  amongst 
the  Atlantes,  the  people  who  eat  no  living  thing 
and  who  never  have  dreams. 

The  ring  showed  us  that  Zabulun,  the  wrong- 
doing Enchanter,  had  not  drawn  near  us  for  many 
days.  We  were  far  away  from  him  when  we  came 
amongst  the  Atlantes.  But  soon  he  came  near  us 
again.  By  that  time  I  had  found  him  who  was 
wisest  amongst  this  people,  and  I  asked  him  to 
tell  me  of  Merlin,  and  of  how  I  might  come  to 
him. 

"Not  often  does  the  island  on  which  Merlin 
dwells  show  itself,"  said  he  who  was  wisest  amongst 
the  Atlantes.  "On  the  mid  day  of  summer  it  is 
to  be  seen.  Then  it  draws  near  to  the  Western 
Island,  and  if  you  will  cast  upon  the  water  nine 
cocks'  combs  and  four  peacocks'  feathers.  Merlin 
will  let  you  come  upon  his  island." 

Thereupon  he  who  was  wisest  amongst  them 
gave  us  the  cocks'  combs  and  four  peacocks' 
feathers.  They  reverenced  Hermes  of  Egypt, 
the  people  that  are  called  the  Atlantes,  and  be- 
cause we  had  spoken  with  Hermes  and  had  been 

121 


THE  BOY  APPRENTICED  TO  AN  ENCHANTER 

in  his  cell,  they  brought  us  on  board  a  ship  that  had 
great  leathern  sails,  and  in  that  ship  they  carried 
us  to  your  island,  O  King. 

IX.   How  Eean  and  Bird-of-Gold  Came  to 
King  Manus's  Stables 

We  came  to  your  island,  O  King  (said  Bird- 
of-Gold,  continuing  her  story),  but  no  sooner  did 
we  step  from  the  ship  to  the  landing  stones  than  we 
suffered  a  loss.  The  ring  that  was  around  my 
wrist  broke  and  fell  into  the  sea,  and  thereafter 
we  had  no  sign  that  would  show  how  close  Zabulun 
was  in  pursuit  of  us. 

We  set  off  for  that  part  of  the  land  that  Merlin's 
island  comes  near  to.  One  day  our  way  was 
through  a  dark  valley  and  we  lay  down  there  to 
sleep.  I  awakened  after  some  hours  of  slumber, 
and  I  looked  toward  Eean,  and  I  saw  that  he  was 
still  sleeping.  I  left  him  to  his  sleep,  but  when 
hours  passed  I  went  over  to  awaken  him.  But  I 
could  not  awaken  him  from  that  slumber,  do  what 
I  would.  For  three  days  and  three  nights  he  slept 
in  that  valley  while  I  watched  beside  him. 

122 


THE  STORY  OF  BIRD-OF-GOLD 

At  last  he  awoke  saying,  "WTiat  day  is  this, 
and  how  near  is  Zabiilun  to  us  ?"  I  told  him  that 
we  were  two  days  from  the  mid  day  of  summer, 
and  that  we  had  no  sign  now  to  show  us  how  close 
the  Enchanter  might  be.  We  were  greatly 
troubled,  O  King,  for  we  knew  not  how  we  might 
come  to  Merlin's  island  by  the  mid  day  of 
summer. 

It  was  then  that  we  heard  of  your  horses.  King 
Manus.  We  were  told  of  their  swiftness,  and  we 
said  to  each  other,  "Only  by  the  speed  of  these 
horses  can  we  reach  the  place  that  Merlin's 
island  comes  near,  and  by  Merlin's  aid  save 
ourselves  from  the  power  of  Zabulun,  the  wrong- 
doing Enchanter." 

At  nightfall  we  came  before  your  palace  and 
your  stable.  Now  it  was  not  hard  for  us  to  open 
the  doors  of  your  stable.  Your  watchers  drank 
of  a  drug  that  I  made,  O  King.  Eean  brought  a 
cup  to  them,  and  they,  thinking  the  drink  had  been 
sent  to  them  from  your  supper  table,  drank  it. 
At  once  they  fell  into  a  slumber.  Then  we  opened 
the  four  locks  of  the  iron  door  with  the  keys  that 

123 


THE  BOY  APPRENTICED  TO  AN  ENCHANTER 

were  in  their  belts.  Eean  went  within  the  stable 
while  I  kept  watch  at  the  gate  of  the  orchard. 

Alas,  Eean  was  taken  before  he  could  mount  the 
white  horse,  and  before  I  went  to  take  the  bridle 
of  the  red  one.  I  saw  him  being  brought  within 
the  palace,  and  I  saw  two  new  watchers  take  their 
places  beside  the  door. 

For  a  long  time  I  stood  in  the  shadow  of  the 
orchard  gate  not  knowing  what  to  do.  Then  I 
thought  that  I  should  still  take  one  of  the  horses 
and  go  to  the  place  where  Merlin  might  be  spoken 
to,  and  so  win  aid  for  Eean,  my  beloved  com- 
panion. I  made  another  drug,  and  I  put  it  into  a 
drink,  and  I  brought  the  cup  to  those  who  were 
at  the  stable  door.  These,  too,  were  unsuspect- 
ing ;  they  thought  I  had  brought  it  from  the  supper 
table,  and  they  drank,  and  they,  too,  lost  their 
senses. 

Then  I  opened  the  iron  door  of  the  stable  the 
way  we  had  opened  it  before  and  I  went  within. 
I  saw  the  red  horse  in  his  stall  and  I  put  my  hand 
upon  his  neck.  As  I  did  this  the  black  horse 
broke  loose,  and  he  plunged  at  me,  and  he  caught 

124 


THE  STORY  OF  BIRD-OF-GOLD 

me  by  the  flesh  of  the  shoulders  and  he  flung  me 
down.  He  reared  above  me,  and  was  about  to 
bring  his  hoofs  crashing  down  upon  me.  Then 
indeed  I  should  have  been  trampled  to  death 
but  that  you  and  your  men  came  in,  O  King. 

You  came  with  torches  and  you  drove  that 
fierce  black  horse  away  from  my  body.  Never 
was  I  in  such  danger  of  death  as  I  was  in  then. 
I  do  not  think  I  am  now  in  such  danger  as  when 
I  lay  under  the  feet  of  that  fierce  black  horse. 
But  it  is  for  you  to  judge,  O  King. 

Bird-of-Gold  finished  her  story,  and,  closing 
her  eyes,  she  laid  her  head  upon  her  hands.  All 
at  that  supper  table  looked  toward  King  Manus. 
Eean  seemed  to  hear  nothing  of  her  story,  for  all 
the  time  his  eyes  were  upon  the  King's  face. 

Said  King  Manus,  "She  has  been  in  danger  as 
great  as  the  danger  she  is  in  now,  for  verily,  that 
black  horse  of  mine  is  a  manslayer.  The  girl, 
too,  shall  go  free." 

Then  the  King  drank  another  cup  of  wine  and 
was  silent  for  a  while.     Then  he  said,  speaking 


THE  BOY  APPRENTICED  TO  AN  ENCHANTER 

again:  "They  have  fled  a  great  way,  these  two. 
I  should  not  be  glad  if  they  lost  the  match  with 
this  Zabulun.  By  the  open  hand  of  my  father, 
they  may  take  my  two  horses,  the  white  one  and 
the  red  one,  and  ride  to  that  part  of  the  Western 
Island  that  Merlin's  island  comes  near.  For 
payment  to  me,  let  them  ask  Merlin  the  Enchanter 
what  moves  I  should  make  in  that  game  of  chess 
that,  for  half  my  lifetime,  I  have  been  playing 
with  King  Connal." 

When  King  Manus  said  this  the  last  binding 
was  taken  off  Eean  and  off  Bird-of-Gold,  and  they 
went  to  him  and  they  kissed  his  hands.  Eean 
promised  that  they  would  bring  the  horses  back 
to  the  stable,  and  he  promised,  too,  that  he  would 
ask  Merlin  about  the  moves  in  the  game  of  chess, 
and  would  bring  back  the  answer  to  the  King. 

In  the  middle  of  it  all,  one  of  the  stewards  came 
to  the  King,  and  said  there  was  one  in  the  palace 
who  knew  the  youth  Eean  and  who  could  not  be 
withheld  from  coming  to  him.  As  they  were 
speaking  about  him,  he  came  into  the  supper  room, 
an  old  man,  whom  they  all  recognized  as  the  one 

126 


THE  STORY  OF  BIRD-OF-GOLD 

who  watched  before  the  door  of  the  King's  cham- 
ber, to  prevent  those  who  came  with  requests 
that  might  not  be  granted  being  brought  before 
the  King. 

He  went  straight  to  where  Eean  stood,  and  hold- 
ing up  a  torch  he  looked  upon  him.  He  no  sooner 
looked  than  he  cried  out,  "It  is  he  —  indeed, 
indeed  it  is  he !"  And  Eean,  his  hands  grasping 
the  old  man,  said,  "It  is  Anluan !  It  is  my 
father !" 

Then  it  was  told  to  Eean  how  Anluan  had  left 
the  nets  of  a  fisherman  after  his  son  had  gone  with 
Zabulun  as  his  apprentice ;  and  it  was  told,  too, 
how  he  had  come  to  the  palace,  and  how  he  had 
been  made  the  oflScer  at  the  King's  doorway  on 
account  of  his  extraordinary  patience,  a  patience 
that  he  had  learned  when  he  handled  the  net, 
and  that  wore  out  the  most  insistent  of  those  who 
came  with  requests  to  the  King. 

There  was  much  rejoicing  over  the  meeting  be- 
tween Eean  and  his  father  Anluan.  Then  Anluan 
turned  to  her  whose  hand  Eean  held,  to  Bird-of- 
Gold,  and  having  wept  over  her  he  began  to  ques- 

127 


THE  BOY  APPRENTICED  TO  AN  ENCHANTER 

tion  her  about  her  accompHshnients.  It  was  at 
this  point  that  the  stewards  took  Anluan  away, 
for  the  pair  had  now  to  make  ready  for  their  ride 
to  that  part  of  the  Western  Island  that  MerUn's 
island  came  near  to  on  the  mid  day  of  summer 
which  would  be  the  morrow  of  that  very  night. 
Refreshments  were  given  them  at  the  King's 
table,  the  newest  of  meats  and  the  oldest  of  wines, 
and  they  went  out  of  the  hall,  and  they  mounted 
the  horses  that  the  grooms  of  King  Manus  now 
brought  out  for  them,  Eean  taking  the  white 
horse,  and  Bird-of-Gold  the  red  horse.  A  bound 
and  a  bound,  and  the  white  and  the  red  started 
off,  spurning  the  cobblestones  of  the  courtyard, 
riding  toward  their  meeting  with  that  Enchanter 
who  would  give  them  freedom  from  Zabulun, 
Merlin,  the  Enchanter  of  the  Isle  of  Britain. 


128 


THE  TWO  ENCHANTERS 


PART  III 

THE  TWO  ENCHANTERS 
I.   Merlin  and  Vivien 

A  great  Enchanter  indeed  was  Merlin.  He 
served  with  his  enchantments  the  King  of  the 
Isle  of  Britain  from  the  time  he  was  a  stripling 
to  the  time  when  he  was  two  score  years  of  age. 
Then,  when  he  might  have  passed  from  being  a 
lesser  to  being  a  great  Enchanter,  Merlin  van- 
ished altogether  and  was  seen  no  more  at  the  court 
of  the  King  of  the  Isle  of  Britain.  All  the  great 
works  he  had  planned  were  left  undone,  all  the 
instruments  he  had  gathered  were  left  unused, 
all  the  books  he  had  brought  together  were  left 
unopened,  and  the  King  whom  he  had  served  so 
long  was  left  to  whistle  for  his  Enchanter. 

If  there  were  one  to  blame  for  that  it  was  the 
daughter  of  King  Dionas.  She  was  young,  but 
she  was  ungentle.     What  she  saw,  that  she  would 

131 


THE  BOY  APPRENTICED  TO  AN  ENCHANTER 

have.  One  day  a  stranger  was  passing  with  her 
father,  and  when  he  looked  on  her  he  said,  *'A 
young  hawk  she  is,  a  young  hawk  that  has  not 
yet  flown  at  any  prey."  That  very  day  the 
daughter  of  King  Dionas  walked  on  the  plain  that 
was  at  a  distance  from  her  father's  castle.  The 
stranger  who  had  spoken  of  her  to  the  King  was 
there,  and  he  looked  long  upon  her. 

*'Who  art  thou  who  lookest  on  me  so?"  said 
the  child. 

"Thou  art  Nimiane,  who  art  also  called  Vivien," 
said  the  stranger. 

"Yea,"  said  she,  "but  who  art  thou,  man?" 

"I  am  called  Merlin,"  he  said,  "and  I  am  the 
Enchanter  to  the  King  of  the  Isle  of  Britain." 

"Show  me  thine  enchantments,"  said  Vivien, 
who  feared  not  to  speak  to  any  man. 

Now  Merlin  had  looked  on  all  the  ladies  who 
were  at  the  court  of  the  King  of  the  Isle  of  Britain, 
and  on  the  maidens  who  were  in  far  countries  and 
distant  castles,  and  besides,  the  ladies  of  the  times 
of  old  had  been  shown  him  in  his  Magic  Glass,  but 
never  before  had  he  seen  any  one  who  seemed  so 

132 


THE  TWO  ENCHANTERS 

lovely  to  him  as  this  child.  She  was  bright  eyed 
as  a  bird.  She  had  a  slim  body,  and  pale  cheeks, 
and  quick,  quick  hands.  Her  hair  was  red  and 
in  thick  tangles.  "  Show  me  thine  enchantments," 
she  cried  to  him  again. 

Merlin  bade  her  come  with  him  and  she  came. 
He  brought  her  to  a  high  place,  a  place  that  was 
of  rock  with  rocks  piled  all  about  it.  On  the 
ground  he  made  magical  figures.  Then  he  said 
magical  words.  And  all  the  time  Vivien,  slim 
Vivien  with  her  tangle  of  red  hair,  stood  upon  the 
rocks  and  kept  her  eyes  upon  him. 

Upon  the  ground  that  was  all  rock  Merlin  made 
a  garden  with  roses  blowing  and  clear  waters 
flowing,  with  birds  singing  amongst  the  leaves 
and  fishes  swimming  in  the  streams.  He  made 
trees  grow,  too,  with  honey -tasting  fruits  upon 
them. 

Vivien  went  through  the  garden,  plucking  the 
flowers  and  tasting  the  fruits  that  grew  there. 
She  turned  to  Merlin  and  looked  at  him  again 
with  her  bright  eyes.  "Canst  thou  make  a 
castle  for  me.^^"  said  she. 

133 


THE  BOY  APPRENTICED  TO  AN  ENCHANTER 

Then  Merlin  made  his  magical  figures  and  said 
his  magical  words  over  again.  The  stones  that 
were  strewn  about  everywhere  came  together  and 
built  themselves  up  into  a  castle.  When  the 
castle  rose  before  them  Vivien  took  Merlin  by 
the  hand,  and  they  went  through  its  doorway  and 
up  the  stairway  and  into  the  castle  turret.  And 
when  they  looked  from  the  turret  Vivien  said, 
"Would  that  no  one  should  know  of  this  garden 
and  this  castle  but  thou  and  I !" 

He  told  her  that  the  castle  and  the  garden  would 
be  hidden.  Then  when  they  were  leaving  the 
garden  he  put  a  mist  all  around,  a  mist  that  those 
who  came  that  way  could  not  see  through  and 
were  made  fearful  of  venturing  into. 

And  so  the  castle  and  the  garden  were  all  un- 
known to  men.  But  Vivien  would  come,  passing 
through  the  mist,  and  going  into  the  garden  and 
up  into  the  turret.  At  first  she  would  not  have 
Merlin  near  her.  Afterward  it  came  to  pass 
that  she  would  summon  him.  A  bugle  hung  in 
the  turret  of  the  castle,  and  she  would  blow  upon 
it,  and  he  would  come  and  stay  by  her. 

134 


THE  TWO  ENCHANTERS 

He  was  two  score  years  of  age,  and  she  was 
five  years  less  than  a  score.  Nevertheless  he 
thought  it  better  to  watch  her  dancing  with  bright 
green  leaves  in  her  red  hair  than  to  know  all  that 
would  bring  him  from  being  a  lesser  to  being  a 
great  Enchanter.  Of  the  maidens  and  great 
ladies  he  had  seen,  some,  he  told  her,  were  like 
light,  and  some  were  like  flowers,  and  some  were 
like  a  flame  of  fire.  But  she,  he  said,  was  like  the 
wind.  And  he  took  thought  no  more  for  the 
King  of  the  Isle  of  Britain,  nor  for  the  great  work 
he  was  to  do  for  him,  and  he  spent  his  days  in 
watching  Vivien,  and  in  listening  to  Vivien,  and 
in  making  magic  things  for  Vivien's  delight. 

Her  father  once  took  her  away  from  the  place 
near  where  the  hidden  garden  and  the  hidden 
castle  stood.  Vivien  was  in  another  country  now. 
And  when  she  went  amongst  those  who  were 
strangers  to  her  she  found  out  that  nothing 
mattered  to  her  except  the  looks  and  the  words 
of  Merlin.  The  castle  and  the  garden  —  she  did 
not  think  of  them,  nor  of  the  magic  things  he 
had  made  for  her.     Her  thoughts  were  only  on 

135 


THE  BOY  APPRENTICED  TO  AN  ENCHANTER 

Merlin,  who  was  so  wise  and  who  could  do  such 
wonders. 

When  she  came  back,  and  when  she  met  him 
in  the  hidden  garden,  she  caught  hold  of  his  hands, 
and  she  would  not  let  go  of  them.  Nor  would  she 
tell  Merlin  why  this  change  had  come  over  her, 
and  why  she  would  keep  close  to  him  now  and  not 
apart.  At  last  she  said  to  him,  "What  ladies 
and  what  maidens  have  you  known,  O  my  master 
Merlin.?" 

Then  Merlin  took  his  Magic  Glass  into  his  hands, 
and  in  it  he  showed  her  all  the  ladies  who  were 
at  the  court  of  the  King  of  the  Isle  of  Britain, 
and  he  showed  her  all  the  lovely  maidens  who 
lived  in  far  countries  and  in  distant  castles  whom 
he  knew.  Vivien  threw  herself  on  the  ground  with 
her  face  to  the  rock  after  she  had  looked  into  the 
glass. 

Then  afterward  she  watched  him  in  a  way 
different  from  the  way  she  had  watched  him  before. 
What  he  said  and  what  he  did  she  remembered 
well.  Soon  she  understood  his  magic  figures  and 
could  make  them.     She  came  to  understand  his 

136 


THE  TWO  ENCHANTERS 

magic  words  and  to  be  able  to  repeat  them.  And 
Merlin  would  say  to  her,  *'0  my  little  hawk,  fly 
at  this  —  and  this  —  and  this." 

One  day  as  they  wandered  through  a  forest 
Vivien  asked  him  to  tell  her  the  mightiest  spell 
that  he  knew.  The  Enchanter  told  it  to  her.  She 
stood  still,  with  all  her  quick  mind  in  her  face, 
while  he  put  aside  the  tangles  of  her  red  hair  and 
spoke  into  her  ear. 

It  was  a  spell  that  would  hold  in  a  place  the 
one  whom  it  was  spoken  over.  When  he  had  told 
her  he  went  at  her  bidding  and  seated  himself 
under  a  forest  tree.  Vivien,  laughing,  made  a 
magic  circle  around  him  and  repeated  the  spell 
that  he  had  given  her.  When  she  did  this  the 
Enchanter  was  enchanted.  Merlin  stayed  under 
the  forest  tree,  and  there  he  would  stay,  for  he 
could  not  move  until  the  spell  that  was  said  over 
him  was  unsaid  by  Vivien. 

And  Vivien  danced  around  him,  her  red  hair 
shaking,  her  bright  eyes  gleaming,  her  quick  hands 
waving.  She  called  to  him,  "Merlin,  Merlin  En- 
chanter, come  to  me."     But  Merlin,  under  the 

137 


THE  BOY  APPRENTICED  TO  AN  ENCHANTER 

forest  tree,  could  not  move.  She  ran  through 
the  woods  and  he  could  not  follow  after  her.  In  a 
while  she  came  back  and  stood  beside  him. 

Said  Merlin  to  her,  "Why  have  you  worked 
this  spell  upon  me,  and  why  have  you  left  me  here 
so  that  I  cannot  move.?"  She  knelt  down  on 
the  ground  beside  where  he  gat. 

"O  Merlin,"  said  she,  "I  would  leave  you  here 
enchanted,  for  fear  you  should  leave  me  and  go 
amongst  the  maidens  and  the  ladies  who  are  so 
lovely."  And  when  she  said  that  her  face  was 
so  hard  that  he  knew  she  would  hold  him  there. 

But  Merlin  smiled,  and  he  said  to  her,  "I 
would  stay  always  where  you  are,  Vivien,  blossom 
of  the  furze." 

"Nay,"  said  she,  "you  would  go  from  me. 
Why  should  you  not.'^  You  have  great  works  to 
do  for  the  King  of  the  land.  And  when  you  see 
again  the  ladies  and  the  maidens  who  are  the 
loveliest  in  the  world  you  will  not  come  back  again 
to  Vivien.  I  shall  hate  the  castle  and  the  garden 
that  you  made  for  me,  and  I  shall  hate  every  one 
who  will  come  near  me.     I  shall  hold  you,  Merlin, 

138 


THE  TWO  ENCHANTERS 

here,  even  until  the  wolves  come  out  at  night  and 
devour  you  and  me." 

*'I  will  build  a  castle  for  you  in  an  empty 
country,  and  no  one  shall  ever  be  there  but  you 
and  me,"  said  Merlin. 

"Nay,"  said  Vivien,  "they  will  search  the  world 
for  you.  Merlin,  and  when  they  find  you,  you  will 
have  to  go  with  them." 

Then  Merlin,  as  if  it  were  a  magic  thing  that 
would  please  her,  brought  out  his  thought  about 
the  Island  of  the  White  Tower.  Away  beyond  the 
Western  Island,  in  a  sea  that  is  never  sailed  on, 
that  island  lies.  Only  on  Midsummer  Day  does 
it  come  near  to  the  W^estern  Island  so  that  men 
may  see  it.  There,  said  Merlin,  they  might  go. 
Those  who  would  search  for  him  could  never 
come  to  him  there.  He  told  her  more  and  more 
about  the  Island  of  the  WTiite  Tower,  and  Vivien 
listened  in  delight  to  all  he  told  her.  And  when 
he  had  sworn  he  would  take  her  to  it  she  unsaid 
the  spell  with  which  she  had  bespelled  him,  and 
he  rose  up  from  where  he  had  been  held,  and  he 
sprang  across  the  magic  figure  that  was  drawn 

139 


THE  BOY  APPRENTICED  TO  AN  ENCHANTER 

upon  the  ground.     And  with  Vivien  MerUn  went 
through  the  forest. 

The  fishermen  who  cast  their  nets  by  the  shores 
of  the  Western  Ocean  have  this  story  of  MerHn 
and  Vivien.  They  tell  how  in  a  boat  of  crystal 
twelve  creatures  sailed  to  the  Island  of  the  White 
Tower.  And  two  were  Merlin  and  Vivien,  and 
nine  were  the  nine  prime  bards  of  the  Isle  of 
Britain  who  went  with  Merlin,  and  one  was  the 
tame  wolf  that  was  Merlin's  servant.  They 
sailed  out  upon  a  Midsummer's  Day,  and  from 
that  good  day  to  this  no  hint  or  hair  of  the  En- 
chanter has  been  seen  by  King  nor  clown  in  all  the 
Isle  of  Britain. 

II.   Zabulun  the  Enchanter 

It  was  Anluan,  the  father  of  Eean,  Anluan  who 
had  once  been  a  fisherman  by  the  shores  of  the 
Western  Ocean,  who  told  this  story  of  the  En- 
chanter of  the  Isle  of  Britain.  The  fishermen 
know  the  story,  and  they,  more  often  than  any 
others,  have  seen  the  Island  of  the  White  Tower 

140 


THE  TWO  ENCHANTERS 

as  it  shows  itself  on  the  rim  of  the  Western 
Ocean. 

The  story  was  told  after  the  white  horse  and 
the  red  horse  had  clattered  across  the  stones  of 
the  courtyard,  bringing  Eean  and  Bird-of-Gold 
toward  their  meeting  with  Merlin.  Candles 
thicker  than  a  man's  wrist  had  been  put  upon  the 
supper  table ;  fresh  torches  had  been  set  in  the 
sconces  along  the  walls ;  and  logs  of  resinous  wood 
had  been  piled  upon  the  hearth.  All  this  was 
done  so  that  the  King  and  his  lords  might  drink 
their  last  cups  of  wine  before  they  went  into  the 
sleeping  chambers. 

And  now,  in  the  light  of  shining  candles  and 
blazing  torches  and  mounting  hearth  fires,  the 
squires  and  the  servers  went  amongst  the  company 
filling  the  wine  cups  up.  Some  had  already  the 
wine  in  their  cups,  and  were  waiting  for  King 
Manus  to  raise  his  in  a  health.  Then  the  strangest 
of  strange  things  happened.  No  wind  came  into 
the  hall,  but  suddenly  the  candles  upon  the  table 
and  the  torches  along  the  walls  went  out.  The 
servers  went  to  relight  the  torches  at  the  hearth, 

141 


THE  BOY  APPRENTICED  TO  AN  ENCHANTER 

but  the  hearth  blaze  had  died  down,  and  all  the 
logs  were  black. 

And  blackness  was  in  the  chamber  where,  a 
minute  before,  candles  and  torches  and  hearth 
fires  were  blazing.  The  King  and  his  lords  stood 
around  the  table,  while  the  servers  and  squires 
ran  through  every  chamber  of  the  castle  to  find  a 
spark  of  light. 

But  not  even  a  spark  could  they  find ;  not  the 
light  of  a  rush  candle  even  was  to  be  found  in  any 
hall  or  chamber  in  the  castle.  And  on  every 
stairway  the  same  story  was  told,  how  suddenly 
light  and  fire  had  gone  black  out. 

But  now  the  grooms  came  in  with  flints  and  steel 
and  tow.  Every  one  tried  to  strike  a  spark,  but 
no  spark  came  for  all  their  striking.  And  now, 
all  over  the  castle,  there  were  outbursts  of  woe : 
the  cooks  were  lamenting  that  they  would  have 
no  fires,  and  the  women  were  weeping  because 
lights  could  not  be  brought  them.  It  was  then 
that  King  Manus  bade  his  lords  stand  around 
laying  their  hands  upon  the  table. 

The  next  thing  was  that  a  figure  appeared  at 

142 


THE  TWO  ENCHANTERS 

the  doorway.  All  saw  it,  for  there  was  a  line  of 
faint  light  around  it.  It  was  the  figure  of  a  tall 
man.  *' Speak,"  said  King  Manus  with  his  hand 
stretched  to  the  figure. 

"If  you  will  have  me  speak,"  said  the  man. 

"The  lights  and  the  fires  have  been  quenched 
in  the  castle.     How  has  this  come  to  be.'*" 

"It  is  in  the  power  of  an  Enchanter  of  the 
second  degree  to  quench  light  and  fire,"  said  the 
man  in  the  darkness.  "Further,  King  Manus: 
the  fire  and  light  that  is  extinguished  cannot 
be  brought  back  until  the  Enchanter  lifts  his 
ban." 

"Have  you  come  to  tell  me  this.^*"  asked  the 
King. 

"I  have  come  to  make  a  request  of  you,  King 
Manus,"  said  the  man  in  the  darkness. 

Then  Anluan,  the  father  of  Eean,  he  whose 
duty  it  was  to  let  none  that  might  have  a  request 
come  face  to  face  with  the  King,  groped  around 
the  room  that  he  might  place  himself  before  his 
master.  But  ere  he  came  to  where  King  Manus 
stood  the  man  with  the  line  of  light  around  had 

143 


THE  BOY  APPRENTICED  TO  AN  ENCHANTER 

come  so  close  that  he  and  the  King  looked  into 
each  other's  eyes. 

"O  King,"  said  the  stranger,  "I  have  answered 
what  you  asked  of  me.  Now  I  make  my  request. 
It  is  that  the  black  horse  that  is  in  your  stable  be 
given  to  me." 

There  was  a  stir  in  the  darkened  hall,  and  then 
there  was  an  outcry.  It  was  from  Anluan,  the 
father  of  Eean.  "O,  King  Manus,  beware  of 
the  man  who  knows  of  the  powers  of  Enchanters. 
He  may  be  the  one  who  would  ride  in  chase  of 
Eean,  my  son !" 

*'He  has  made  a  request  of  me,"  said  King 
Manus.  "By  the  open  hand  of  my  father,  it  will 
have  to  be  granted  him." 

"It  is  for  the  one  horse  that  can  follow  the 
others,"  Anluan  cried. 

*'I  have  never  refused  a  request!  Alas,  alas, 
in  one  night  the  three  horses  that  were  my  pride 
are  taken  from  me  !" 

"Strike  now,  and  light  candle  and  torch  and 
hearth  fire,"  said  the  one  who  had  come  amongst 
them. 

144 


THE  TWO  ENCHANTERS 

Flint  was  struck  upon  steel ;  sparks  came  and 
made  the  tow  blaze ;  candle  and  torch  and  hearth 
fire  were  lighted  again.  Then  all  looked  at  the 
one  who  had  come  amongst  them. 

Tall  he  was,  with  a  dark  and  bony  face,  and  eyes 
that  were  like  a  hawk's  eyes.  His  dress  was  a 
plain  cloak  that  had  a  hood  that  went  over  his 
head.  And  yet,  although  he  had  not  the  staff 
nor  the  robe  of  an  Enchanter,  it  did  not  need 
Anluan's  cry  to  tell  the  company  that  here  was 
the  one  to  whom  his  son  had  been  apprenticed 
—  Zabulun  the  Enchanter  ! 

"Why  do  you  go  in  chase  of  my  son?"  Anluan 
cried. 

"Harut  and  Marut  laid  hands  upon  me.  Am 
I  to  have  no  more  mastery  because  of  that.'*" 
said  Zabulun.  "For  forty  days  I  was  laid  in 
the  cave  that  is  under  the  sea,  and  do  men  think 
that  all  power  is  gone  from  me  because  of  that.'' 
I  thought  all  that  time  that  what  I  worked  for 
would  come  to  pass,  and  that  the  Magic  Mirror 
of  Babylon  would  be  lost  in  the  ruin  of  the  Tower 
of  Babylon  and  that  destruction  would  come  upon 

145 


THE  BOY  APPRENTICED  TO  AN  ENCHANTER 

the  Babylonians.  This  would  have  been  if  the 
boy  who  was  my  apprentice  had  been  faithful  to 
me.  But  he  spoke  the  words  that  restored  the 
mirror  to  the  Kings  of  Babylon.  And  I,  whose 
name,  as  I  thought,  would  stand  forever  as  one 
who  had  worked  a  great  destruction,  am  as  naught 
—  my  name  is  a  name  to  laugh  at.  And  shall 
he  pass  from  my  mastership,  the  boy  who  let 
this  befall  me  ?  Not  so  ;  he  has  still  to  be  my  aid. 
I  have  paid  you,  his  father,  gold  for  his  seven 
years'  service,  and  his  service  still  belongs  to  me." 

Then,  turning  to  King  Manus,  Zabulun  said, 
"You  have  granted  my  request.  Command  now 
that  your  grooms  go  to  the  stable  and  bring  out 
the  black  horse  that  I  am  to  ride." 

King  Manus  gave  the  commands.  Then  out 
of  the  door  of  the  castle  they  all  went  and  into  the 
courtyard.  The  still  light  of  the  dawn,  the  dawn 
of  Midsummer's  Day,  was  coming  over  the  world. 
The  grooms  went  to  the  stable,  and  in  full  sight 
of  all  unlocked  the  great  stable  door  and  brought 
out  the  black  horse  whose  swiftness  was  such 
that  he  could  overtake  the  wind  of  March  that 

146 


THE  TWO  ENCHANTERS 

was  before  him,  while  the  wind  of  March  that 
was  behind  could  not  overtake  him.  They  brought 
forth  the  black  horse  and  they  held  him  while  the 
dark-faced  man  put  himself  astride.  Then  the 
hoofs  of  the  last  of  the  King's  horses  struck  fire 
out  of  the  stones  of  the  courtyard,  while  a  cry 
went  up  from  Anluan,  the  one-time  fisherman. 

And  away  went  Zabulun  the  Enchanter,  away, 
away  in  pursuit  of  Eean  and  Bird-of-Gold,  and  the 
light  of  the  Midsummer  Day  came  into  the  world. 

III.  The  Last  Flight  of  Eean  and  Bird-of- 
Gold 

As  the  first  light  of  the  Midsummer  Day  came 
over  the  world  the  two  who  were  fleeing  before 
him  were  speaking  of  Zabulun  the  Enchanter. 
"That  we  may  baffle  him,"  one  said. 

"And  what  if  we  cannot  baffle  him  this  time.^*'* 
said  the  other. 

"Then  he  will  take  me  and  make  me  do  terrible 
services  for  him"  —  it  was  Eean  who  said  this  — 
"and,  worse  than  all  the  services  he  will  make 
me  do,  he  will  separate  us." 

147 


THE  BOY  APPRENTICED  TO  AN  ENCHANTER 

"No,  no,"  said  Bird-of-Gold.  "If  he  takes  us 
this  time,  I  shall  do  everything  to  make  myseK 
useful  to  the  Enchanter.  I  have  thought  out 
ways  in  which  I  can  serve  him.  He  will  not 
separate  us  and  we  will  be  together  still." 

"O,  Bird-of-Gold,"  said  Eean,  "I  am  fearful 
lest  he  should  slay  you  for  taking  the  Magic  Mirror 
off  the  Tower  of  Babylon.  But  I  have  a  sword  and 
he  shall  not  harm  you." 

"I  shall  escape  him,"  Bird-of-Gold  said,  "and  as 
he  followed  you  and  me  across  the  world,  so  I  shall 
follow  him  and  you,  and  we  shall  never  be  apart." 

They  had  learnt  in  their  wanderings  all  ways  of 
guiding  themselves,  and  as  they  galloped  on  they 
were  heading  for  the  Western  Ocean.  Darkness 
was  around  them  at  first.  But  the  sky  was  wide 
and  clear,  and  Bird-of-Gold,  when  she  raised 
her  head,  could  see  and  name  the  bright  planets. 
There  was  Mars  with  his  red  pulse.  Bird-of- 
Gold  likened  this  planet  to  the  steed  that  she 
bestrode,  and  as  she  rode  on  she  sang  to  herself 
the  song  that  the  shepherd  boys  in  her  own  coun- 
try used  to  sing  about  another  star : 

148 


THE  TWO  ENCHANTERS 

That  star,  I  know,  is  Betelguise ; 
Yet,  as  I  walk  the  hills  by  day, 
I  hardly  know  his  splendid  name  — 
That  star  is  far  away. 

But  when  at  night  I  travel  on. 
Or  watch  across  an  empty  land, 
Then  Betelguise,  my  star  of  stars, 
No  thing  is  nearer  hand. 

Then  send  a  ray  that  I  may  own 
The  fortune  that  is  mine  : 
O  Betelguise,  my  star  of  stars, 
My  forehead's  for  your  sign ! 

And  after  all  the  countries  he  had  wandered 
through,  Eean  was  now  back  on  the  ground  of 
his  own  country.  He  heard  the  cry  of  the  curlews 
overhead.  He  saw  the  lakes  that  looked  as  if 
even  the  birds  had  forgotten  them,  so  lonely  they 
were,  lonely,  but  with  deep  memories.  He  saw 
the  cairns  of  stones  above  the  long  dead  heroes. 
Once  he  saw  a  fox  upon  a  cairn,  and  it  seemed  to 
him  that  this  was  the  very  fox  he  had  chased  away 
from  his  mother's  coop  the  day  before  the  En- 
chanter had  taken  him  away  from  the  Western 
Island. 

149 


THE  BOY  APPRENTICED  TO  AN  ENCHANTER 

With  strong  hearts  King  Manus's  horses  galloped 
on.  But  the  heart  of  Eean  was  strained  with  the 
thought  of  the  distance  that  was  still  before  them. 
First,  a  great  mountain  that  had  to  be  crossed. 
Then  a  wide  plain.  Then  that  other  mountain  from 
the  top  of  which  one  could  see  the  Western  Ocean 
in  the  daylight.  And  Zabulun  the  Enchanter 
might  come  upon  them  in  the  hills  or  on  the  plain 
and  say  a  word  that  might  stop  their  horses'  gallop. 

But  they  came  to  the  last  mountain  top,  and 
they  saw  the  waters  of  the  Western  Ocean  with 
gleams  of  gold  coming  upon  them.  Adown  the 
heather-covered  hillside  their  horses  hurried.  And 
as  the  broad  sun  rose  over  the  broad  ocean  the 
feet  of  the  white  and  the  red  horse  were  scattering 
the  foam  along  the  shore. 

And  as  they  watched  they  saw  Merlin's  island 
grow  out  of  the  dimness  of  the  sea.  Then  the 
sun  became  fuller  and  it  lighted  up  the  White 
Tower,  and  Eean  and  Bird-of-Gold  knew  they  had 
come  to  their  journey's  end  indeed.  They  sprang 
off  their  horses,  and  they  dipped  their  hands  in 
the  sea,  and  they  kissed  each  other. 

150 


THE  TWO  ENCHANTERS 

"  Now  we  must  cast  over  on  the  island  the  tokens 
that  the  Atlantes  gave  us,"  Eean  said,  "the 
cocks'  combs  and  the  peacocks'  feathers.  If  they 
come  to  Merhn,  he  will  let  us  cross  to  his  island, 
and  we  can  swim  our  horses  over.  But  how  shall 
we  know  if  the  tokens  come  to  him  ?" 

He  raised  the  bag  in  which  were  the  cocks'  combs 
and  the  four  peacocks'  feathers.  He  cast  the  bag 
toward  the  island.  Through  the  air  it  went  like 
a  flying  bird. 

They  mounted  their  horses  again,  ready  to 
swim  them  across  when  they  got  some  signal 
from  the  island.  And  the  signal  came.  It  was 
the  howl  of  the  wolf  that  was  Merlin's  servant. 

Now  they  were  to  swim  their  horses  across.  As 
they  went  into  the  water,  Bird-of-Gold  looked 
back.  Down  through  the  heather  of  the  hillside 
a  rider  was  coming.  He  was  on  a  black  horse. 
They  knew  him  for  Zabulun,  the  Enchanter  from 
whom  they  were  fleeing. 


151 


THE  BOY  APPRENTICED  TO  AN  ENCHANTER 

IV.   How  Eean  Won  His  Release  from 
Zabulun  the  Enchanter 

Merlin,  with  the  tame  wolf  that  was  his  servant 
beside  him,  was  standing  by  the  White  Tower  on 
the  morning  of  that  Midsummer  Day.  And 
Vivien  was  upon  the  tower,  singing  to  her  colored 
birds  and  looking  out  over  the  sea. 

Vivien,  who  played  with  her  colored  birds,  had 
still  the  look  of  a  child  in  her  face.  Her  hair  was 
no  longer  in  tangles ;  it  was  softer  than  it  was 
once,  and  it  fell  softly  over  her  shoulders.  Her 
eyes,  for  all  the  child's  look  that  was  in  her  face, 
were  as  if  they  had  seen  many  things  come  and 
change  and  pass. 

Like  a  King,  or  like  one  who  had  been  always  near 
a  King,  was  Merlin  the  Enchanter.  He  smiled, 
and  his  smile  was  calm  and  royal.  But  one  might 
have  said  that  his  eyes  were  strangely  close  to 
each  other  and  that  his  lips  were  strangely  red. 

His  beard  was  long  and  gray.  He  wore  a  white 
robe  with  a  belt  of  green  leaves  around  it,  and  a 
chaplet  of  oak  leaves  was  on  his  head.     Vivien 

152 


THE  TWO  ENCHANTERS 

was  dressed  in  green,  with  a  golden  belt  clasped 
around  her,  and  with  green  leaves  in  her  soft  hair. 

So  they  were  standing  by  and  on  the  tower, 
Merlin,  Vivien,  and  Merlin's  tame  wolf,  when 
the  tokens  that  were  from  the  Atlantes  came. 
Merlin  laid  his  hand  upon  the  wolf,  and  the  wolf 
gave  the  howl  that  was  the  signal  for  Eean  and 
Bird-of-Gold  to  come  on  the  Island  of  the  White 
Tower.  The  Enchanter  saw  them  ride  their 
horses  into  the  water.  And  then  another  token 
came  to  him  —  the  token  that  one  magician  sends 
to  another,  a  Bird  of  Foam  it  was,  and  Zabulun 
sent  it. 

Deep  were  the  waters,  but  great-hearted  were 
the  horses  of  King  Manus,  the  white  horse  and 
the  red  horse,  and  with  Eean  and  Bird-of-Gold 
astride  of  them  they  swam  to  the  Island  of  the 
White  Tower.  They  came  to  the  sloping  shore, 
and  the  riders  helped  the  horses  up  to  the  hard 
ground.  The  white  and  the  red  horse  stood 
shivering  from  their  plunge  into  the  ocean. 
Afterward  they  threw  themselves  on  the  grass 
and  lay  as  still  as  if  they  were  dead. 

153 


THE  BOY  APPRENTICED  TO  AN  ENCHANTER 

Not  to  the  horses,  but  out  to  the  sea  did  Eean 
and  Bird-of-Gold  look.  The  black  horse  with 
Zabulun  astride  him  was  swimming  now.  Swiftly 
to  the  White  Tower  where  they  saw  Merlin  stand 
they  went. 

"O,  Merlin,"  Eean  cried,  "to  you  we  have 
come  to  save  us  from  the  Enchanter  who  has 
pursued  us  from  one  end  of  the  world  to  the  other." 

"From  whom  have  you  come,  you  who  have 
sent  such  tokens  .^^ "   said  Merlin. 

"From  Hermes  Trismegistus  in  his  secret  cell., 
And  Hermes  bade  us  say  to  you  that  we  have 
heard  from  him  the  answer  to  the  riddle  that  the 
Sphinx  asks,  and  that  we  crossed  the  desert  to 
come  to  you,  answering  the  Sphinx." 

"Who  is  the  Magician  who  pursues  you?" 

"Zabulun,  once  a  Prince  in  Babylon,  O  Merlin." 

"Is  it  he  who  pursues  you?  —  Zabulun!  I 
shall  have  a  welcome  for  Zabulun." 

"Save  us,  O  Merlin,  from  Zabulun,"  Bird-of- 
Gold  cried. 

Vivien  came  down  from  the  tower.  "It  is 
Zabulun  who  comes  to  our  island  in  chase  of  these 

154 


THE  TWO  ENCHANTERS 

two,  my  Vivien,"  Merlin  said.  "Now  you  shall 
see  me  match  my  power  with  Zabulun's." 

"A  match  between  magicians,  how  entertain- 
ing it  will  be  !"  cried  Vivien,  clapping  her  hands. 

*'0  lady,  if  Zabulun  is  not  baffled  it  will  be 
death  or  separation  for  us,"  said  Bird-of-Gold  to 
her. 

*'  Merlin  will  baffle  him  —  you  will  find  that 
Merlin  will  baffle  him,"  said  Vivien.  "You  see, 
he  has  done  nothing  to  impress  me  for  an  age." 

Now  Merlin  had  sent  the  tame  wolf  that  was 
his  servant  upon  an  errand,  and  the  wolf  at  this 
moment  returned  leading  nine  men  who  wore 
white  robes  and  who  had  chaplets  of  oak  leaves 
upon  their  brows.  These  were  the  nine  prime 
bards  of  the  Isle  of  Britain  who  had  come  to  the 
Island  of  the  White  Tower  with  Merlin,  their  chief. 

They  stood  as  he  bade  them,  four  on  one  side 
and  five  on  the  other,  with  the  Enchanter  of  the 
Isle  of  Britain  between  them.  Merlin  bade  Eean 
stand  with  the  four  bards.  He  touched  them 
with  his  staff,  and  the  row  of  bards  and  Eean  with 
them  became  all  as  alike  as  ten  peas  in  a  pea  pod. 

155 


THE  BOY  APPRENTICED  TO  AN  ENCHANTER 

And  Merlin  went  to  Bird-of-Gold  and  touched  her 
also,  and  she  became  like  the  lady  Vivien  exactly. 

Now  the  black  horse  that  bore  Zabulun  came 
to  the  sloping  bank  of  the  Island  of  the  White 
Tower,  and  Zabulun  sprang  off  his  back  and  drew 
the  black  horse  up  on  the  bank.  The  horse 
breathed  mightily,  and  then  like  the  others  lay 
down  on  the  grass. 

With  great  and  sure  strides  Zabulun  came  to 
the  White  Tower  where  Merlin  stood.  "Hail, 
Merlin,"  he  cried  in  a  loud  voice. 

"Hail,  Zabulun." 

"You  know  of  an  apprentice  of  mine  who  has 
come  to  your  island." 

"Find  him,  O  mighty  magician." 

Zabulun  looked  and  saw  the  ten  men  who 
looked  exactly  alike,  and  the  two  women  whom  one 
could  not  tell  one  from  the  other.  He  turned  to 
Merlin  then  and  he  said,  "What  a  simple  trick 
you  would  play  upon  me !  Nine  bards  you  have, 
and  there  are  ten  before  us.  One  of  them  is  Eean, 
the  boy  apprenticed  to  me." 

"Then  you  will  take  him,  Zabulun." 

156 


THE  TWO  ENCHANTERS 

It  is  certain  that  Merlin  did  not  think  that 
Zabulun  would  do  what  he  did  now.  He  changed 
himself  into  a  hound.  Running  amongst  the  ten 
that  were  there  he  snufifed  at  them.  By  the  smell 
of  the  horse  he  had  ridden  he  would  find  Eean. 

But  as  he  ran  amongst  them  Merlin  touched 
each  of  the  ten  bards  and  Eean  with  them  with 
his  staff.  They  all  became  pigeons  and  flew  up 
into  the  air.  One  had  a  feather  awry.  This  was 
Eean  on  whom  Zabulun  had  laid  a  paw  just  as  he 
was  being  transformed. 

Instantly  Zabulun  changed  himself  into  a  hawk 
and  strove  to  rise  above  the  flock  6f  pigeons.  As 
he  did  he  saw  the  one  that  had  a  feather  awry. 
Over  him  he  came. 

Then  Eean,  seeing  the  hawk  above  him,  dropped 
instantly  to  the  earth.  The  others  flew  down  with 
him,  crowding  around  to  hide  the  ruflfled  feather. 
They  came  before  the  door  of  Merlin's  house. 
They  flew  in  and  lighted  down  on  the  floor  while 
the  hawk  came  sweeping  up  to  the  doorway. 

Merlin  touched  the  pigeons  with  his  staff  and 
again  transformed  them.     They  became  ten  rings 

157 


THE  BOY  APPRENTICED  TO  AN  ENCHANTER 

of  gold  that  lay  upon  the  floor.  As  the  hawk 
flew  in  and  perched  on  a  chair  to  fix  his  eyes  upon 
them,  the  rings  of  gold  rolled  into  the  fire. 

Then  Zabulun  transformed  himself  into  a  tongs, 
and  went  hunting  through  the  fire  for  the  rings. 
He  picked  up  one  ring  and  flung  it  out  on  the 
floor,  he  picked  up  another  ring  and  flung  it  out 
on  the  floor,  and  so  on,  until  the  ten  rings  were 
out  of  the  fire.  Merlin  touched  the  rings  with  his 
staff,  and  they  were  transformed  into  ten  grains  of 
corn.  Upon  these  ten  grains  Vivien  and  Bird-of- 
Gold  threw  handful  after  handful  of  grains  of  corn. 

But  now  Zabulun  changed  himself  into  a  cock 
with  strong  legs  and  wide  claws  and  a  hungry  beak. 
With  his  claws  he  scratched  through  the  heap  of 
grain.  With  his  beak  he  picked  the  grains  up. 
Vivien  and  Bird-of-Gold  kept  throwing  on  the  floor 
handful  after  handful  of  corn  to  cover  the  ten  grains. 

But  the  beak  of  the  cock  went  so  fiercely  and 
so  hungrily  amongst  them  that  only  a  few  grains 
more  than  the  ten  were  left  upon  the  floor  when 
Vivien  and  Bird-of-Gold  found  out  they  had  no 
more  handfuls   to   fling.     Then   it   seemed   as   if 

158 


THE  TWO  ENCHANTERS 

the  cock  with  his  sharp  eye  would  soon  pick  out 
the  grain  that  was  Eean. 

Then  with  his  staff  Merlin  touched  nine  of  the 
grains,  leaving  one  untouched.  The  one  he  left 
untouched  was  Eean.  The  nine  were  changed  into 
weasels,  and  they  faced  the  cock  fiercely.  Then 
was  Zabulun  startled.  Instead  of  picking  at  the 
grain  that  was  Eean  he  fluttered  up  from  the 
ground,  and  went  out  of  the  door  of  the  house. 

Merlin  touched  the  grain  that  was  left  and 
Eean  stood  up.  Bird-of-Gold  clapped  her  hands 
for  joy  on  seeing  him  again.  But  Eean  ran  out  of 
the  door  of  the  house  after  the  cock  that  was 
Zabulun  the  Enchanter.  He  snatched  up  a  strong 
staff  as  he  ran. 

Zabulun  had  changed  back  into  his  own  form. 
But  now  Eean  had  no  fear  of  him.  He  ran 
toward  him.  And  Zabulun  took  up  a  staff  that 
was  lying  there  and  made  to  defend  himself. 

Then  began  the  battle  between  Eean  and 
Zabulun.  Eean  struck  at  Zabulun,  and  Zabulun 
struck  at  Eean,  and  each  defended  himself  with 
the  staff  that  he  had.     They  fought  their  way 

159 


THE  BOY  APPRENTICED  TO  AN  ENCHANTER 

across  the  island,  from  one  side  to  the  other. 
They  fought  until  their  staves  were  broken  and 
until  they  were  covered  with  bruises.  Then  they 
threw  away  their  staves  and  gripped  one  another. 
All  around  the  island  they  wrestled.  Strong  were 
the  hands  of  Zabulun  upon  Eean,  and  yet  Eean 
was  not  thrown  by  Zabulun.  Eean  felt  his  own 
hands  were  strong  upon  Zabulun,  and  yet  he  could 
not  throw  him.  Soon  Eean  lost  sense  of  every- 
thing except  two  gripping  and  rocking  figures. 

They  wrestled  their  way  across  the  island, 
down  to  the  shore  where  they  had  landed  and 
where  the  three  horses  of  King  Manus  were  lying. 
They  wrestled  until  the  sea  water  came  over  their 
feet.  Again  things  became  clear  to  Eean.  He 
knew  that  if  he  could  overthrow  the  Enchanter  he 
would  win  his  freedom  from  him. 

He  fastened  upon  Zabulun  a  grip  that  seemed 
to  be  stronger  than  his  own  life.  He  heaved  with 
a  power  that  seemed  to  bring  up  his  last  breath. 
He  bent  Zabulun  over.  He  brought  him  down, 
his  head  in  the  water.  He  flung  himself  upon  the 
prone  Enchanter. 

160 


THE  TWO  ENCHANTERS 

"What  would  you  have  of  me?"  Zabulun  said 
at  last. 

"Release.  Say  you  have  no  more  mastership 
in  me." 

"I  say  it.  I  have  no  more  mastership  in  you. 
You  have  release  from  me." 

"I  let  you  rise." 

Then  Eean  took  his  grip  ofiP  Zabulun.  The  En- 
chanter rose  up  and  took  himself  out  of  the  water. 

So  Zabulun  was  defeated,  and  so  release  was 
given  to  Eean,  The  Boy  Apprenticed  to  the  En- 
chanter. Zabulun  mounted  the  black  horse  that 
was  King  Manus's  and  had  him  swim  the  water. 
He  rode  across  the  plain  and  over  one  mountain 
and  another  mountain  until  he  came  to  the  castle 
of  King  Manus.  There  he  left  the  horse  to  neigh 
for  his  grooms. 

What  became  of  Zabulun  afterward  is  not 
written  in  the  book  that  is  the  History  of  the 
Enchanters.  Some  say  that  from  that  Mid- 
summer's Day  he  ceased  to  be  named  with  the 
great  Enchanters.  The  powers  he  had  gained, 
they  say,  shrank  from  him.     Afterward  a  famous 

161 


THE  BOY  APPRENTICED  TO  AN  ENCHANTER 

juggler  appeared  in  the  world.  He  used  to  go 
into  the  halls  of  Kings  on  festival  nights  and  do 
marvelous  feats  with  balls  and  rings  and  knives, 
and  play  music  on  all  manner  of  instruments, 
going  from  King's  castle  to  King's  castle.  That 
juggler,  they  say  —  but  they  may  be  mistaken  — 
was  Zabulun,  once  Prince  of  Babylon,  and  once 
master  of  the  Inaccessible  Island. 

Eean  and  Bird-of-Gold  went  within  the  White 
Tower,  and  conversed  from  noon  to  dusk  with 
Merlin  and  the  lady  Vivien.  Before  that  Mid- 
summer's Day  had  passed  into  darkness,  they 
mounted  the  white  steed  and  the  red  steed  and 
had  them  swim  across  the  waters.  When  they 
came  to  the  farther  shore  they  let  the  horses  stand 
for  a  while.  Then  mounting  them  again  they 
rode  over  the  mountains  and  across  the  plains 
and  came  again  to  the  castle  of  King  Manus. 

V.  The  Return  of  King  Manus's  Horses 

Again  Manus,  King  of  the  Western  Island,  sat 
in  his  supper  hall.  The  torches  were  in  their 
sconces,   the  candles  were  lighted  on  the  table, 

162 


THE  TWO  ENCHANTERS 

the  hearth  fire  was  blazing  on  the  hearth,  and  his 
lords  once  again  sat  to  the  right  and  the  left  of 
him.  But  this  time  they  sat  without  laughter 
and  without  high  words. 

The  harper  and  the  story-teller  were  at  the  table 
too,  but  they  neither  made  music  nor  told  stories. 
They  had  tried,  both,  that  evening,  but  no  one 
had  listened  to  them.  Outside,  the  iron  door  of 
the  stable  gaped  wide,  and  the  grooms  and  horse 
boys  and  watchers  stood  idly  around  or  went 
quarreling  amongst  themselves.  It  was  very 
difficult,  as  you  may  imagine,  for  the  harper  to 
play  upon  his  harp  when  he  would  hear  the  King 
say  into  his  wine  cup,  "O,  Raven,  my  black 
horse,  where  art  thou  now?"  And  it  was  equally 
difficult  for  the  story-teller  to  get  on  with  his  tale 
when  he  would  see  the  King  looking  at  him  with 
unseeing  eyes  and  hear  him  say,  "O,  my  white 
and  my  red  horses,  what  would  I  not  give  if  I 
saw  you  back  in  my  courtyard  again  ?" 

So  you  can  imagine  the  silence  that  was  upon 
the  supper  board  that  was  wont  to  resound  with 
conversation   and   story-telling,   with   music   and 

163 


THE  BOY  APPRENTICED  TO  AN  ENCHANTER 

pledges  of  the  wine  cup.  "O,  Raven,  my  black 
horse,  where  art  thou  now?"  said  the  King  once 
again ;  and  then,  *' What  would  I  not  give  to  have 
my  white  and  my  red  horse  in  the  courtyard 
again?"  And  these  were  all  the  words  that  King 
Manus  could  be  got  to  say. 

And  then,  suddenly,  a  loud  neigh  was  heard 
outside.  Straightway  King  Manus  ran  out  of 
the  supper  hall.  The  lords,  the  minstrel,  and  the 
story-teller,  the  stewards,  servers,  and  attendants, 
ran  with  him.  And  when  they  came  as  far  as 
the  wide  door  of  the  castle  they  ran  into  the  grooms 
and  the  horse  boys  who  were  running  from  the 
stable.  All  ran  together.  And  there,  in  the 
middle  of  the  courtyard,  without  a  rider  upon  his 
back,  was  Raven,  the  King's  black  horse. 

They  brought  him  into  his  stall  in  the  stable, 
and  they  combed  him  and  they  groomed  him ; 
they  gave  him  the  red  wheat  and  the  white  barley 
to  eat  and  the  clear  spring  water  to  drink.  King 
Manus  could  hardly  be  prevailed  upon  to  leave 
Raven's  stall  and  come  back  into  the  supper 
hall.     But  at  length  they  got  him  back  into  his 

164 


THE  TWO  ENCHANTERS 

seat,  and  then  the  supper  board  resounded  with 
pledges  of  the  wine  cup  as  the  King  and  his  lords 
drank  to  each  other  merrily. 

Again  there  was  neighing  in  the  courtyard, 
this  time  a  double  neighing.  Straightway  the 
King  ran  out  and  all  who  were  near  ran  with  him. 
They  ran  into  the  grooms  and  the  horse  boys  who 
were  running  from  the  stable.  There  in  the 
courtyard  were  the  white  horse  and  the  red  horse. 
They  were  not  unmounted,  however,  for  Eean 
and  Bird-of-Gold  were  upon  them. 

This  time  King  Manus  grew  into  such  glee  that 
he  swore  by  the  open  hand  of  his  father  that  he 
would  make  a  duke  of  every  lord  who  was  with 
him  that  night.  There  were  great  rejoicings. 
Some  tossed  their  torches  so  high  that  they 
frightened  the  owls  out  of  the  cornices  on  the 
castle.  The  grooms  brought  the  white  horse  and 
the  red  horse  into  their  stalls  in  the  stable,  and 
they  fed  them  with  red  wheat  and  white  barley, 
and  gave  them  the  clear  spring  water  to  drink. 

Then  they  went  to  carry  Eean  and  Bird-of- 
Gold  into  the  supper  hall.     They  were  not  to  be 

165 


THE  BOY  APPRENTICED  TO  AN  ENCHANTER 

found  for  a  while,  for  Anluan,  Eean's  father,  had 
led  them  away.  He  was  seen  to  weep  over  Eean, 
and  to  take  the  hands  of  Bird-of-Gold  and  kiss 
her  while  he  called  her  daughter.  And  to  Anluan 
King  Manus  gave  the  privilege  of  bringing  them 
to  the  supper  board. 

The  King  put  Eean  into  the  story-teller's  seat, 
but  he  had  Bird-of-Gold  sit  beside  him  on  his  left 
hand.  The  feast  began  all  over  again,  and  went 
on  from  egg  to  apple.  And  when  wine  had  been 
drunk  King  Manus  called  upon  Eean  to  tell  the 
story  of  his  journey  to  Merlin's  Island  and  the 
full  tale  of  how  he  had  defeated  Zabulun  the 
Enchanter. 

When  all  was  told  the  King  gave  presents  to 
Eean  and  Bird-of-Gold  and  he  swore  that  for  a 
year  and  a  day  he  would  have  them  live  with  him 
in  his  castle.  "And,"  said  he,  "this  girl,  Bird-of- 
Gold,  has  been  very  loving  and  faithful  to  you  as 
you  have  been  to  her,  and  for  a  further  benefit 
to  you  I  shall  have  the  old  blind  sage  come  down 
from  his  attic  in  the  castle  and  marry  you  here 
and   now."     Eean   and   Bird-of-Gold    took   each 

166 


THE  TWO  ENCHANTERS 

other's  hands  as  he  said  this,  and  the  old  blind 
sage  was  brought  down  from  his  attic  chamber, 
and  he  married  Bird-t)f-Gold  and  Eean  by  the 
rays  of  the  rising  sun. 

For  a  year  and  a  day  they  lived  in  King  Manus's 
royal  castle.  Now  Eean  had  learnt  so  much  of 
the  arts  and  crafts  and  mysteries  that  belong  to 
an  Enchanter  that  he  was  able  to  do  great  works 
for  the  King.  Castles  he  built  that  gave  security, 
and  bridges  that  brought  people  together,  and 
mills  that  ground  for  the  people  abundance  of 
corn.  He  had  become  so  strong  and  so  sure 
of  himself  since  his  encounter  with  Zabulun  that 
all  he  set  out  to  perform  he  did  well.  And  his 
wife,  Bird-of-Gold,  loved  him  so  much  that  her 
thought  never  went  back  to  the  country  she  had 
come  from.  Always,  they  say,  she  kept  a  flock 
of  white  ducks ;  perhaps  they  reminded  her  of  the 
thousand  ducks  that  was  the  fortune  she  brought 
into  Babylon. 

But  the  story-teller  must  not  forget  to  tell  you 
about  the  question  that  Eean  asked  Merlin  the 
Enchanter  on  King  Manus's  behalf.     It  was  about 

167 


THE  BOY  APPRENTICED  TO  AN  ENCHANTER 

a  game  of  chess  that  King  Manus  had  been  play- 
ing with  his  brother-in-law,  King  Connal,  for  half 
their  lifetimes  without  either  having  victory  in 
sight.  Moreover,  they  had  inherited  the  game 
from  their  fathers,  and  it  was  now  being  played 
for  fifty  years.  Merlin  told  Eean  what  the  moves 
should  be,  and  the  day  after  he  came  to  the  castle, 
Eean  took  the  chess  board  and  showed  them  to 
the  King.  With  that  instruction  he  played.  The 
game  of  chess  was  finished  three  days  afterwards, 
and  great  fame  and  honor  came  to  King  Manus. 


\5 
0' 


168 


Printed  in  the  United  States  of  America. 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 

on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 

Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 


9]^:'65iSl 


KEC*D  LD 
JUL29'65-8A 


APR  n  1969  5  2 


RECEfVED 


^n7'69 


LAll 


i-OAN  de:pt. 


-p^ 


1  4  1980. 


E£C  GIK.     MAR  1  9 


/•"" 


MAY  t  ^  mj 


JUN    7  1987 


LD  21A-60m-3,'65 
(F2336sl0)476B 


General  Library 

University  of  California 

Berkeley 


U.C.BEBKEL«UBBM«ES 


I 


B003001B33 


